User types
- Applies to:
- All MindTouch Versions
- Role required:
- Admin
User types
- Viewer (previously called Community members) - End users who can only view public and permissioned content.
These may be your customer base that, in addition to public content, may also need exclusive viewing access to pages pertaining only to them. Viewers are assigned by a site administrator and need to log in to view exclusive content.- Anonymous users (not logged in) - Any user visiting a site who is not logged in and can only consume (view) public content.
Within the control panel, there is a user named "Anonymous" that cannot be modified, because activity from unauthenticated (not logged in) users is recorded through the Anonymous Community member account. - Authenticated users (logged in) - A user who is logged in and can view public and private content.
- Anonymous users (not logged in) - Any user visiting a site who is not logged in and can only consume (view) public content.
- Seated members (previously called Pro Members) - Internal users who can contribute to content.
These may be employees who draft and edit content or administer your site. Seated members are assigned a role by a site administrator and need to log in to contribute content. Roles are initially assigned in the control panel, and can be overwritten by granting special permissions on pages or entire sections as needed.
User privileges
| Anonymous viewer (not logged in) | Authenticated viewer (logged in) | Seated member | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Log in | ✔ | ✔ | |
| View | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Rate articles | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Provide feedback | ✔ | ✔ | |
| Contribute | ✔ |
For a Viewer to be able to edit or author content, you must reassign them as a seated member in the control panel, and then assign the appropriate contributor role.
For Anonymous viewers (not logged in) to rate articles, you may need to configure your site options.
User privileges are outlined more thoroughly in the following table.
Example permission configurations
There are a few common configurations across Expert sites. Explore these options to help identify what configuration is best for your site.
The steps to apply each of these scenarios to your site are the same:
- Site: Set your site to public.
- Viewers: Allow users to register and join the site in Site tools > Control panel > Configuration and select the option for Allow anyone to create a community member account.
- Seated members: Unlike Viewers, Seated members can modify and create content. You can either create a brand-new Seated member or promote an authenticated (logged in) Viewer to a Seated member in Site tools > Control panel > Users.
Viewer role for Authenticated users
Authenticated viewers (formerly Community members) cannot be boosted to Seated member roles at the page level, and can only view and rate content. Reassigning them the Viewer role allows them to have limited editing rights on a site as a Seated member, and then later be boosted to a higher role at the page level as part of a group when needed.
This can be useful when you want a group of users to only be able to work on sections of the site that are relevant to their department or product area.
Self-service scenario
You want your users to self-help and resolve their own issues. You want your content to be authoritative and produced by internal subject matter experts (SMEs). In this scenario, your employees / SMEs will be considered Seated members.
Feedback scenario
You want your users to self-help and resolve their own issues while continuing to increase their expertise in your product or service. You want your content to be authoritative and produced by your SMEs while allowing customers to interact with content to identify successes and failures. In this scenario, your internal SMEs will be Seated members, while partners and customers will be Viewers.
Collaboration scenario
You want your users to self-help and resolve their own issues while continuing to increase their expertise in your product or service. You want your content to be authored by both internal and external subject matter experts (SMEs). In this scenario, your internal and external SME customers, partners, and colleagues will be Seated members and your customers will be Viewers.
Planning for user permissions
Read more about how to decide whether to assign roles globally or on a page-by-page basis.