Creating and Administrating a Forum

Before You Begin


	panFora allows you to build and customize Forums to meet your particular needs.

	panFora provides a highly customizable environment in both the front-end and back-end of the application.

	In order to best take advantage of this functionality, please take a minute to familiarize yourself with the following:

	Administrative Roles (i.e., Server Administrator, panFora Administrator, Users).
	Roles and Responsibilities
	Forum Configuration
	Organization of Topics and Groups

	Notes:
	You may edit most of these configurations after the initial set-up.
	However, in order to save time and avoid inconviniencing users, it is best to take the time to properly configure your Forum before populating it.


Assigning Administrative Roles

	All administrative roles can be assigned to one person, or delegated to a number of people.
	Some administrative roles are all encompassing, other quite limited:
	some span various Forums within the panFora System.
	some are Forum specific.
	some are confined to certain areas within that Forum.

	Administrative roles are divided in three main categories:
	Server Administrative Roles
	Server Administrator
	panFora Administrative Roles
	panFora System Administrator
	Forum User Roles
	Forum Primary Administrator
	Forum Administrator(s)
	Lead Moderator(s)
	Moderator(s)
	Registered User(s)
	Guest(s)

Tips:
	Each of these roles carries responsibilities along with its set of privileges.
	These are highly configurable and tend to vary from Forum to Forum.
	Any Forum member may have more than one role:
	User + Moderator, User + Moderator + Forum Administrator, etc.)


Roles and Responsibilities

	Refer to the Roles and Responsibilities Summary Table below for an at-a-glance comparison between the various roles and responsibilities.
	Click on any Role Title to view a detailed description.
	* indicates this privilege is configurable by the Forum Admininistrator.

	Server Admin	panFora System Admin	Primary Forum Admin	Forum Admin	Lead Moderator	Moderator	Registered User	Guest User
Installs panFora software
Has Root privileges

Create and Configure New Forums
Delete Existing Forums
Copy or Move Users between Forums

Edit Forum Configuration
Edit Forum Color Scheme
Edit Forum Layout
Upload and Edit Forum HTML Pages.

Main Admin Contact for Users
Listed in his Groups' email notification list.
Add, Edit and Delete Users (current Forum)

Make and Delete Announcements to the Forum
Send Email to the Forum
Add, Edit and Delete Topics
Edit Topic Posting Permissions

Delete Messages (Posts)					*	*
Edit Forum Messages (Posts)					*	*

Enter the Forum								*
Read Message Content								*
Post messages to the Forum								*
Reply to messages in the Forum								*
Edit Own Posts							*
Post anonymously							*
Use HTML in Posts							*	*
Attach Files to Posts							*	*
Post with Email Notification							*


	Server Administrator
	The Server Administrator is responsible for the web server's operation. The Server Administrator installs panFora software. The Server Administrator has root privileges (create, write and install files).

	panFora System Administrator
	Create and Configure New Forums Delete Existing Forums Copy or Move a user from one Forum to another Access panFora Software System Information

	The panFora System Administrator has limited access to the Forum unless he is a Forum member (part of the Forum User Database)

	Primary Forum Administrator
	Edit Forum Configuration, Color Scheme and Layout Upload and Edit Forum HTML Pages (for Home Page configuration, layout, and navigation) Make and Delete Announcements to the Forum Send Email to the Forum Add, Edit and Delete Forum Users Add Users Photos Provide users with replacement encrypted passwords Add, Edit and Delete Topics Edit Topic Posting Permissions Delete Posted Messages

	The Primary Forum Administrator is the main contact to the Forum, responsible for providing users with new passwords to replace lost or forgotten encrypted passwords. Otherwise, he has the same roles as the Forum Administrator(s).

	Forum Administrator(s)
	Edit Forum Configuration, Color Scheme and Layout Upload and Edit Forum HTML Pages (for Home Page configuration, layout, and navigation) Make and Delete Announcements to the Forum Send Email to the Forum Add, Edit and Delete Forum Users Add Users Photos Provide users with replacement encrypted passwords Add, Edit and Delete Topics Edit Topic Posting Permissions Delete Posted Messages

	Lead Moderator(s)
	Make and Delete Announcements to the Forum Send Email to the Forum Add, Edit and Delete Topics Edit Topic Posting Permissions Delete Posted Messages * Edit any or all Posted Messages *

	Note: * indicates the extent of this privilege is configurable by the Forum Admininistrator.
	Each Group has only one Lead Moderator. In addition to the privileges above, the Lead Moderator is listed in his Groups' email notification list.

	Moderator(s)
	Make and Delete Announcements to the Forum Send Email to the Forum Add, Edit and Delete Topics Edit Topic Posting Permissions Delete Posted Messages * Edit any or all Posted Messages *

	Note: * indicates the extent of this privilege is configurable by the Forum Admininistrator.

	Registered User(s)
	Enter the Forum Read Forum Messages Post messages and Reply to messages in the Forum Upload their Own Photos * Add themselves to the Forum * Post anonymously * Use HTML in Posts * Attach Files to Posts * Post with Email Notification * Edit Own Posts *

	Note: * indicates the extent of this privilege is configurable by the Forum Admininistrator.

	Guest User(s)
	Enter the Forum * Read Forum Messages * Post messages and Reply to messages in the Forum * Choose a Name and Email Address for their Posts * Add themselves to the Forum * Use HTML in Posts * Attach Files to Posts *

	Note: * indicates the extent of this privilege is configurable by the Forum Admininistrator.


Forum Configuration

	When creating a Forum, the panFora System Administrator or Forum Administrator will be lead through the five-step sequential process below, to define how the Forum should look, be accessed and operate.

	1.Set up General Forum Parameters
	User Authentication methods User Access Moderator Capabilities User Capabilities
	2.Forum Look and Feel
	Forum Display (User photos, posting statistics, User Profiles and Color Scheme) Pagination Defaults
	3.Add Moderators
	The panFora System Administrator is the default moderator
	4.Create Forum Groups
	By default, two groups are automatically created: [Moderators] and [Users] These group names can be edited at any time Edit or Create new groups, and assign the appropriate Lead Moderator for each group.
	5.Email Notification List
	If email notification with post is enabled, this list will be available to all users when posting messages or replying to messages in the Forum


	Once the process is completed, you will be directed to the Forum Administration Page.
	Now, Forum Administrators can populate the Forum with Users and Topics.


Organization of Topics and Groups

	Forum Topics
	The panFora Forum Topics can be created and organized in a hierarchical structure.
	Take advantage of this functionality to group similar topics together, or to nest groups of topics under a collective umbrella.
	Below are some Forum Topic organization examples:

Forum Example 1

Global Topic A

Subtopic A1

Subtopic A2

Subtopic A3

Global Topic B

Subtopic B1

Subtopic B2

Details B2.1

Details B2.2

Subtopic B3

Details B3.2

Subtopic B4

Global Topic C

Global Topic D

Forum Example 2

Topic A

Topic B

Topic C

Topic D

Forum Example 3

Project 1

Area A

Area B

Area C

Project 2

Area D

Area E

Project 3

Area F

	Note: Each line in the examples above represents a topic name. Subtopics are indented.

	Forum Groups
	You don't need to create Forum groups.
	All new users go into the default [Moderators] group.
	The default group cannot be deleted.
	The group name, however, can be edited at any time.

	However, organizing users into groups has many advantages:

	It allows moderators to take responsibility for a region in the Forum and/or a special interest group.
	Moderators can moderate message content, edit and delete postings within their groups, etc.
	Forum Home Pages are designed with groups in mind. Once a user logs in, he can view group specific announcements, access group specific links, etc.
	When posting to the Forum, a user will have access to his group-specific email notification list.