Allow users to 'Apply to join' a forum that is private (forum management concern)

[Graham Perrin]

Hi

A couple of points concerning subscriptions.


1. Apply to join (major workflow issue)

Example: at <http://n2.nabble.com/restricted-f2162384.html> our Freeman Centre 'ICT group' forum:

a) is visible as a title 'ICT group'

— correct

b) will not reveal its content to a Nabble user, unless a co-owner of the forum has granted access rights to that user

— correct, the Access Rights Configuration set by me at <http://n2.nabble.com/forum/PrivacySettings.jtp?forum=1489538> is respected

c) requires the co-owners of the forum to add subscribers

— the interface to which is <http://n2.nabble.com/catalog/ManageSubscribers.jtp?forum=1489538&tab=add>

d) does not allow a registered Nabble user to apply to join the forum.

Point (d) is, to our workgroups, a potentially major workflow issue.

In some systems other than Nabble I see use of tickets that are persistent, and *not* user-specific. I do offer such tickets but I realise that for private/restricted areas, a universal ticket is not a great approach.

What I'd like to see in Nabble, for the use case above, is something like:

i)   user finds interest in the title of a private forum
     (or, forum owner advertises the existence of the forum
     through media *other* than e-mail)

ii)  Nabble user clicks 'Apply to join'

iii) forum owner (or co-owners) receive the application

iv)  forum owner clicks 'Approve' or 'Deny'.

(Denial at step iv could be less crude, but you get the idea ;)

Maybe I'm missing something?

@ Nabble: your advice please.

(As background: e-mail-only approaches to encouraging membership of private lists have never succeeded for our workgroups. Also, the prospect of manually subscribing users is less than appealing … as I know you know :)

Side note: this request for improvement is similar but not identical to a point within <http://n2.nabble.com/-tp1113013p1113013.html>.


---

2. Menu content (minor cosmetic issue)

At the forum level: the owner should find
Options menu | Users | Manage subscribers
in lieu of
Options menu | Users | View subscribers

— to the owner, it's a management interface (not limited to read-only (View)).


Best regards
Graham

[Graham Perrin]

Graham Perrin wrote

c) requires the co-owners of the forum to add subscribers

(More accurately: allows addition of subscribers.)

[Graham Perrin]

Graham Perrin wrote

d) does not allow a registered Nabble user to apply to join the forum.

Correction

Nabble does allow Nabble registered users to apply to join a forum that is private.

However: unless I'm missing something, the management interface does not hint/explain, to the owner, that application forms are offered.

Suggestion

Where the management interface presents the option:

[   ] …
[   ] …
[ • ] Redefine Who Can View & Post

      Overwrite the authorized list of users who can view and post messages under this forum.

— there should be a hint, a reassurance that:

* unauthorised users aiming for the forum will be offered an
        application to join

* such applications generate an e-mail to the forum owner

* forum owner approves or denies

* approval results in an 'authorisation accepted' e-mail
        to the applicant.

Or, words along those lines.

Clearly you do, as usual, have the logic very well implemented, but the implementation is maybe invisible to forum owners, unless they experiment.

A documentation issue :)

Cheers
Graham

[Graham Perrin]

An example of the standard invitation, as expressed to the unauthorised user:



For the visitor, this is ideal.

For the owner of the forum, there is no foreknowledge of such invitations.

The question How to join members? seems to echo the lack of documentation.

[Hugo <Nabble>]

Thanks a lot for your suggestion. It really makes sense.
We will work on it.

Regards,
Hugo Teixeira
Nabble.com