Permissions in Discussion Board Plus

Permissions in Discussion Board Plus

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Discussion Board Plus uses the built-in SharePoint permissions to determine what actions a user can perform in a Discussion Board Plus list. We’ve divided up the sections of Discussion Board Plus to provide you a helpful way to understand the variations in permissions and settings for the tool.

General Permissions

The table below describes the permission or permission level required to perform each action.

Discussion Board Plus Action
Manage Lists
Full Control
Topic Creator1
Site Collection Administrator2
Verify Answer
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Move Topic
Yes
Yes
Yes*
Yes
Suggest as Answer
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Mark as Not Answer
Yes**
Yes
Yes
Yes
Lock/Unlock Topic
Yes
Yes
Yes*
Yes
Mark/Unmark Topic as Sticky
Yes
Yes
Yes*
Yes
Access Forum Settings
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Edit/Reply
No
Yes
Yes***
Yes
After topic is locked:
Edit/Reply/Suggest or Verify Answer/
Mark as Not Answer
No
No
No
Yes
After topic is locked:
Mark or Unmark as Sticky/Unlock Topic
Yes
Yes
Yes*
Yes

1The user who created the topic (does not apply to anonymous users).
2SharePoint site collection administrators.
*Yes, if the creator has the Manage Lists permission, Full Control permission level, or is a site collection administrator.
**Yes, if the user suggested or verified the answer originally.
***Yes, if the user has the Edit Items permission.

To set up your own SharePoint permission levels to use with Discussion Board Plus, refer to the following information from Microsoft: Edit, create, and delete permission levels.

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Private Topic Permissions

Discussion Board Plus Action
Recipient/ Topic Owner
Contribute
Design
Full Control
Site Collection Administrator
System Account
Create Topic
No
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Share With
Yes*
No
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Access Topic
Yes
No
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Get Alert Notification
Yes
No
No
No
No
No

*Yes, if the user has Full Control permission level.
**Yes, alert sent to the Recipients only.

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Private Reply Permissions

Discussion Board Plus Action
Recipient
Contribute
Design
Full Control
Site Collection Administrator
System Account
Create Reply
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Access Reply
Yes
No
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Get Alert Notification
Yes
No
No
No
No
No

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Move Topic Permissions

Discussion Board Plus Action
Source List
Target List
Allow Move Topic?
If Topic in List:
Is a Locked Topic?
No
Yes
Yes
No
Is a Sticky Topic?
No
Yes
Yes
No
Is a Private Topic?
No
Yes
Yes
No
Contains a Private Reply?
No
Yes
Yes
No
Inherits List Permissions from Parent?
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
No
No
No
No
Yes
No
Inherits Site Permissions from Parent?
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
No
No
No
No
Yes
No

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Forum Settings for Discussion Board Plus List

Forum Settings
Source List
Target List
Allow Move Topic?
Verify Answer
Enabled
Enabled
Yes
Disabled
Enabled
Yes
Disabled
Disabled
Yes
Enabled
Disabled
No
Suggest as Answer
Enabled
Enabled
Yes
Disabled
Enabled
Yes
Disabled
Disabled
Yes
Enabled
Disabled
No
Tagging
Enabled
Enabled
Yes
Disabled
Enabled
Yes
Disabled
Disabled
Yes
Enabled
Disabled
No
Like
Enabled
Enabled
Yes
Disabled
Enabled
Yes
Disabled
Disabled
Yes
Enabled
Disabled
No

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Permissions for Forum Actions

Forums use the general permissions by default. And in addition to the permissions provided by Discussion Board Plus, please note the following for Community Central forums:

  • Administrators and Moderators can add, update or delete any forum topic or post.
  • Members can add topics and posts, but can only edit or delete their own topics/posts.
  • If a read-only account is configured in the Forum Control Panel, anonymous users can read topics and posts but cannot add new topics or posts.

Permissions for Blog Actions

Community Central uses the default SharePoint settings to determine who can perform actions in a blog site. For a list of default permissions for basic blog actions, see the table below. For information about customizing blog site permissions, see the following article:

Configure permissions and settings for a blog (From office.microsoft.com)

Blog Action
Administrators
Moderators
Members
Visitors
Anonymous
Users
Read Blog Posts and Comments
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Create Blog Posts
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
Edit Blog Posts
Yes
Yes
Yes*
No
No
Add Comments
Yes
Yes
Yes
No1.
No1.
Edit Comments
Yes
No
Yes*
No
No
Approve Blog Posts and Comments
Yes
Yes
No
No
No
View Draft Posts and Pending Comments
Yes
Yes
**
No
No
Manage Blog Categories
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No

* Members can edit any blog post or comment by default (not just their own post/comment).

1. Allow visitors and anonymous users to add comments by modifying list permissions.

** Members can view their own draft posts and comments pending approval, but not posts/comments created by other Members.

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Configuring Anonymous Access

By default, anonymous access is not enabled in SharePoint 2013. SharePoint administrators may want to enable anonymous users to have access to Community Central content without having to provide authentication credentials. Anonymous access is permitted or denied based on the permissions for the site. Additional configuration is needed for anonymous users to access Community Central content.

For example:

  • Viewing locked topics – In order for anonymous users to view locked topics in forums, you must configure a read-only forum access account in each forum site’s Forum Control Panel. All other forum content is visible if the site is configured to allow anonymous access.
  • Viewing avatars – In order for anonymous users to be able to see avatars (the SharePoint user profile picture), additional configuration steps are needed. For instructions, see this blog.
  • Adding blog comments – In order for anonymous users to add blog comments, the administrator must modify the list permissions for the Comments list in each blog site. For instructions, see this blog.

For more information about configuring SharePoint for anonymous access, see:

  • Using ideas from this article from Microsoft, decide whether to allow access for anonymous users.
  • This article from Microsoft covers configuring anonymous access.
  • For SharePoint 2010-specific configuration, see this blog.

Alternatively, you can configure SharePoint for anonymous access for forms-based authentication where the accounts can be created from the database. For more information on configuring anonymous users for forms-based authentication, see:

See also:

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