Here's a thought ; if you've got private forum, the only way for members to get in, is to post in another forum to request access, or to e-mail/pm the moderator(s). My idea is to create a mod that enables the following:

• use the PM mod, to send out a PM to the moderator of the private forum, to request access, based on a form that's filled out.
• modify the page that say 'You're not allowed to access this forum', so that it includes an introductionary page (specified per forum), ánd an option to request access for registered members
• When a member is approved by the moderator, he/she is automatically added to the allowed members list, and the member automatically receives an e-mail stating that he/she can access the private forum
  

What do you guys think of this ? I haven't written a single line of code for this yet, but I think this will be my next project.<

Sounds good. Also doesn't really sound too hard. But, at the moment I'm a bit tipsy so I owe you a brainstorm session for now.
But as a concept it's cool because it doesn't scare off new visitors like the
regular "You're not allowed to access this forum" message.
D
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I like the idea. Particularly for "opt-in" forums that contain such things as adult content. Keeps the rest of the board uncluttered.<

Marcel, maybe the points mod is a way to make the private post visable by a x amount of points. After that you can make a request to join<

I like the sound of this possible future mod but I have 4 forums which are for regitered members only and 1 hidden (Guest List) forum which is the board room for admin and moderators, so I don't think I would have much use for it.
On the other hand, my jokes n funny stuff can get out of hand so I could use it for that and then verify somehow that members were over 18 before being allowed into that forum.
Sounds like an interesting mod Good luck, I know you can do it <

Ok...I hear some people are interested. I'll work out some ideas. First thought ;
an additional table in the db, called forum_privateforums, with the following fields ; forum_id (referring to the forum_id in forum_forums), forum_message, forum_contact

• a change in the check in forum.asp/topic.asp that checks for a 'You're not allowed access to this forum', by replacing that message by a custom message (forum_message) which can be specified per private forum. This info would be stored in a separate table, with the forum_id in it, and the custom message (with forumcode support).
• a custom send-mail page, called 'requestaccess.asp', where one would fill out a small form to request access to the private forum, where the mail is being sent to the person specified in the table (forum_contact)
• a custom post page, called 'validaterequest.asp', where the moderator who received the e-mail be able to approve (=add the account to the list of allowed members) or reject (=do nothing)
  (keeping track of a pending members list isn't necessary, as long as the 'validaterequest.asp' page first checks if the member has access already - if the member has access, the page would state that there's no need to validate this request.)
  When the member is approved, the account is added to the forum-list, and the member receives an e-mail stating that he/she was authorised to access the private forum

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Just some notes, man:

- No need for the request on hidden forums with an allowed members list, as others shouldn't even know they exist. However a custom error message could still be used.
- I don't see the need for an additional table meself, just the addition of a field to the forums table to hold the error message - moderators can be pulled from their table, saving the need for the contact field, with the requestor selecting which mod to send their enquiry to, if there's more than one.
- Probably better to keep the whole thing e-mail based for those that don't have the PM mod or have moderators who've disabled it.
Great idea, man
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Originally posted by Shaggy
Great idea, man

Thanks. <

Originally posted by MarcelG Well, the thing is that - at least at oxle - I've got some forums that are hidden and use an allowed members list, with too little members. Users inviting new users find themselves not being able to do this easily. With this, they could simply send the URL of the hidden forum to the invited member.

Ah, fair point Perhaps then, you could create an additional forum setting that would allow the admin/mod select whether or not members can request to be added to the allowed members list?
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Originally posted by MarcelG Well, the thing is that - at least at oxle - I've got some forums that are hidden and use an allowed members list, with too little members. Users inviting new users find themselves not being able to do this easily. With this, they could simply send the URL of the hidden forum to the invited member.

Ah, fair point Perhaps then, you could create an additional forum setting that would allow the admin/mod select whether or not members can request to be added to the allowed members list?Yup, exactly what I had in mind ; an extra field with 2 possible values ; 0 = no request possible (in other words, the message is displayed and that's that), and 1 = request via e-mail possible.<