LTSV is designed to be a collaborative website, whereby users can add their own observations and information. However, without controls, this functionality would inevitably be abused. I have created a somewhat experimental system of allowing users to post content, summarised as follows:

1. Un-registered users (i.e. visitors to this website who have not logged-in) will be able to post content in certain sections. Any such postings will be moderated, and will not be visible until they have been approved.

2. Users who have registered and logged-in can post content in most sections. The first few posts from each user will be moderated (i.e. will not be generally visible until approved).

3. Each user has an 'approval count', which increases each time a (different) user approves an item of content that they have posted. Once a user's approval count reaches a certain point, their permission level will automatically be increased and they will be able to post items directly (i.e.un-moderated).

The planned permissions model is outlined in the table below.

Permission level	What these users can do	How a user gets to this level
Pending Activation	Nothing	Use the Register function
Trainee-Contributor	Post moderated notes and sightings	Use the Register function and enter the e-mailed activation code
Contributor	Post un-moderated notes and sightings Approve (or reject) postings by other users	Have a set number (currently 25) of their posts approved by other users.
Editor	Post un-moderated notes and sightings Add and edit other key data (for example numbers, batches, TOPS codes etc)	Not yet decided but either by invitation or based on a higher approval count
Admin	Add, edit or delete any data, article, news item, photo etc.	Not currently planned to have any additional admins, though this could be reviewed.

Information on your current permission level, and any recent changes, can be found on the My Account page, accessed by clicking on the link below your username in the top right corner of the screen (when logged in).

Once you become a Contributor (i.e. you have had 25 postings approved), anything you post subsequently will be marked as 'semi-approved' (or 'self-approved') by default. These items will be visible to all users as soon as you submit them. However, they can still be approved by another user, an editor or admin, so each user's approval count can increase indefinitely.

It is not expected that many postings will be rejected. However, if any are, the user doing the rejection will be prompted to give a reason for their decision. This will then be visible to the user who made the original post, so that they can amend and re-submit the posting if they wish to.

As stated, this scheme is experimental, and its suitability will be reviewed once the website is up and running. Assuming that anyone actually registers and posts of course!