I have been searching for a solution to this problem for days…and I’ve managed to find a solution only hours after posting this message – I find that quite ironic.
The way that I found which works really well for me is to use the Page Security by Contexture plugin. It creates groups very simply and restricting a forum to a given group/groups restricts all the topics in that forum as well replies and so on. It’s exactly what I needed.
I just saw a tweet about this plugin yesterday.
http://easydigitaldownloads.com/extension/content-restriction/
While I have not used it before, I know his code is rock solid and support is fantastic. It specifically mentions bbPress support and might be able to easily be modified to use groups instead of people who purchase a product. Might be worth asking him about.
If I ever pick up a copy, I’ll try to write up a full review on it as this feature has been requested for some time now.
I’m with @annointed.
I saw that plugin and it looks good. I’d take a look at it first and see how easy it would be to adapt from.
I’m the developer of Easy Digital Downloads and the Content Restriction add-on, if you have any questions, just ask!
very good hint. thanks a lot!
Page Security by Contexture works fine. It has some limitations
1. You have to add users one by one to groups by typing their names. Some other solutions in other plugins include listing all the current users and just clicking / checking ‘add’ eg BuddyPress Group management
2. It would be better if it allowed you to use BuddyPress groups as groups to choose from.
Content Restriction looks like a very comprehensive plugin. And I don’t mind the optional extra of paid support. Problem is
a. it is built around restricting access to downloads rather than pages/forums/categories etc
b. it is built around the idea that the user has or hasn’t paid – if what you want is to segment users into groups who have permission or not to access certain content for reasons other than their payment status. [this coudl be members of a non profit, teachers parents and students etc). If @pippinwilliamson was minded to adapt his plug-in I am sure many many people in the non profit sector would gladly pay for his support for a few months!
@GordonRe – You’re completely right in the limitations of Content Restriction, but those limitations are simply because the plugin is built for a very specific purpose, and it was built as an extension of Easy Digital Downloads.
What needs to happen is a new plugin be built that includes all the features needed 🙂
@pippinwilliamson understood.
Also – my first comment on Page Security is wrong – you can bulk add users to a group in the All Users screen. So far it is doing the job OK.
This was exactly what I was looking for. Thank you for posting your solutions.
Sam
@Pippin when the user buy a product, he can choose with which email and password he weill connect himself on the forum or page? Thanks, R
