Add a "moderator" feature to allow users to manage circles without being admin

[allo-]

Idea: Add a user level for moderators, who cannot delete users or do other admin tasks, but moderate (their own) circles, i.e., invite new users into these circles and remove users from circles.

Use-Case: As a server admin, who likes people to use more XMPP, I want to invite a few people to create circles on my server, so these people can host group chats without asking me to create new invites to their circles.

There are more questions to decide about the exact permissions because such a moderator would, for example, allow people to create accounts without having the permission to delete them.
Also, a moderator should probably not see the full user list. On the other hand, an invite created by a moderator should not invite users to create a second account, but allow them to join a second circle.

[horazont]

@allo-

Hi and thanks for the writeup.

Different roles are planned. But none of those roles is currently(!) intended to be able to create or manage circles in any way, except the admin.

It is rather difficult to strike a balance between simplicity of configuration (i.e. as few knobs as possible) and the flexibility for all the different use cases people have in mind.

Note that you do not need to be an admin to create a group chat (without a circle), so if that’s all you want, that would already work (though the circle logic makes setting up encrypted group chats a lot easier, as it also ensures that everyone sees everyone in their roster).

[allo-]

I need to think about the exact model myself, but what I am thinking of is more like having the full-server room optional and allowing people to create their own private circles and invite each other (and new users) into them.

Currently it is still mostly something one person sets up for all users and everyone knows that person. Then it someone could host it as an infrastructure for other people, who can manage their own circles.

This may be a bit redundant to people opening own rooms, so possibly an easy invite feature (working for both existing and new users) to private rooms with an easy to discover ui for it may provide a similar solution.