Total storage space and how to setup private subgroup

[billk]

I have two question in regard to the free version of proboards.

1) How much total storage space is available for a forum, including users attachments?



2) Is is possible to create a subgroup that is private, nobody can ready or post to it “except certain users”? Example: I create a subgroup called, Zebra. I don’t want anyone to be able to read, post or have access to it except certain users: Able, George, Pam and Tim and these are not admin or moderators just plain users. Is that possible and how do you set that up?



Thank you so much, I appreciate it.



Bill

[Scott]

Aug 7, 2024 8:28:05 GMT -8 billk said:

I have two question in regard to the free version of proboards.

1) How much total storage space is available for a forum, including users attachments?

For the forum in general (posts, threads, members) there is no limit.

Attachment storage for a new forum is 200 MB. This can be increased with a monthly subscription if desired.  Themes and plugins have a starting limit as well, and each can be increased with a one-time payment.

On your forum if you go to Admin > Settings > File Storage you can see what is available and monitor it.

2) Is is possible to create a subgroup that is private, nobody can ready or post to it “except certain users”? Example: I create a subgroup called, Zebra. I don’t want anyone to be able to read, post or have access to it except certain users: Able, George, Pam and Tim and these are not admin or moderators just plain users. Is that possible and how do you set that up?

This can be done by using a member group and board permissions.

In short:
You would create a member group to add these members to.  Note that you do not have to make it a "staff" group" or assign the group any powers.

You select a board (or create a new one) that you would like only the "subgroup" members to have access to.  In that board's permissions (Admin > Structure > Categories & Boards, click on the board and then the Edit Properties button). Go to the Permissions tab and for each permission option you would select "Custom" from the dropdown; and then where it says "And members in the groups:" click the Add Group link and tick the box next to the subgroup member group you created.

Please review the following Help Guide articles as these will be quite helpful in understanding the process.
Creating and Managing Member Groups
Adding a Forum Member to a Member Group
Understanding Board Permissions


Please feel free to ask any question at any point in setting this up.  And I'll also be happy to review what you've setup to ensure it's what you want.

[billk]

Thank you so much Scott, for answering my questions. Your explanation on creating a private subgroup worked out very well and was easy to understand. Thank you.

One last question. When the 200MB is used up what happens? Do the old data/attachments get automatically deleted or does the forum freeze up - what should I expect? Thank you so much.

That brings to mind, is there a way to automatically delete data that is X amount of years old? So we don't end up with posts/attachments that are really old like 5 years or so?

Bill

[Scott]

Aug 8, 2024 5:46:07 GMT -8 billk said:

Thank you so much Scott, for answering my questions. Your explanation on creating a private subgroup worked out very well and was easy to understand. Thank you.

You're welcome.

One last question. When the 200MB is used up what happens? Do the old data/attachments get automatically deleted or does the forum freeze up - what should I expect? Thank you so much.

As admin, in the admin panel you'll receive a message that your attachment space is almost full, then another once it is full.

At any time you can delete old attachments (Admin > Settings > File Storage > Attachments/Manage)

That brings to mind, is there a way to automatically delete data that is X amount of years old? So we don't end up with posts/attachments that are really old like 5 years or so?

There is no mechanism for auto-deletion of posts or attachments.  As for posts, there's really not a downside for keeping older posts.  Something to consider is an option a number of forums do. You can create an 'archive' category or board, and move older threads there.  This allows for a library of older topics for reference.  Of course it's whatever works best for you and your forum.


Another fyi when it comes to adding images. If a member uses an image hosting service, then can use the link provided by the service to embed the image(s) in to their post.  This does not affect attachment storage, and there is no limitation on adding images this way.  Our Help Guide article of External Resources has list of image hosts sites. Most are free.