So Manila 9.5 is out, and the good folks at Weblogger, my most excellent host, are installing it this weekend. From the release notes, here’s one reason I’m looking forward to it:
The Access Control feature adds new controls for what content can be seen and/or responded to within Manila by users. This feature allows editors to restrict access to areas of your Manila site based on membership and/or editorial level. Access can be limited based on membership, eritorial access, or for a specific period of time. The site structure paths which point to a message can also be restricted to members or editors. A new Access Control Prefs page is used to configure Access Control. New access control macros have also been created.
This has always been one of the weaknesses of Manila, and it sounds like they have addressed in in a big way. Hopefully, setting these controls will be easy.
It does not appear, however, that Userland has addressed the issue of approving comments before they are posted, something that is crucial to K-12 users. I really hope I’m wrong.
Will. I hope you enjoy the access control features. It was quite complicated to implement and I hope we did it right. Your feedback, once you have a chance to use it, would be most appreciated. The comment feature that you requested is not in 9.5 — however, its one that we are working on and will release it through the root update process. hopefully, in the next 3-4 weeks. Thanks again for the mention. — Scott