I've seen a bunch of posts dancing around this issue, but I can't seem to find any indicating that it has ever been resolved. Before I start the process of installing DBMan, I need to figure out if it's the right product to use for the job...

What I need is a single database with 4 different levels of permissions (admin, guest, member1, and member2). I figure this could be doable through the Add Permissions mod.

However, I only want people to be able to sign up as member1 or member2 if they're already a paying member of the site (which needs to be verified by checking against a .htpass file...)

So... I have an idea for a somewhat bizarre way of accomplishing this task, but I really have no idea if it would work and I'd rather save myself the task of setting it all up if it's doomed to fail...

What I'm thinking is... I could maybe have three different .cgi files and three different .cfg files (one for each member type and one for admin/guest) and tell them all to reference the same .db file. Then, I could put each "special" cgi-cfg pair in a separate directory, protected by a .htaccess file.

Users would access the appropriate .cgi file by clicking on a link from a static .html page (i.e. "Click here if you are a member", "Click here if you are a guest", etc.)

Does this make any sense? Does anyone have any idea if this would work? I know it's a somewhat crude solution, but searching through the forum and the various mods, it's the best idea I've been able to come up with...

Thanks in advance for any ideas or advice.

---

Fractured Atlas :: Liberate the Artist
Services: Healthcare, Fiscal Sponsorship, Marketing, Education, The Emerging Artists Fund