add option for users to make posts/replies that are only visible to instructors

UserGuide.md

@@ -6,4 +6,83 @@
 
 ## Sorting Posts by Attribute
 
-## Instructor-only Posts
+## Instructor-Only & Anonymous Posting
+### Overview
+Students may need to ask instructors questions that require sharing parts of their buggy code. In many CS courses, sharing code publicly (even unintentionally) can result in an Academic Integrity Violation (AIV).<br>
+This feature introduces flexible post visibility options to ensure students can:<br>
+* Ask questions publicly
+* Ask anonymously
+* Share posts visible only to instructors
+
+### Posting Options
+When creating a post (via New Topic or Quick Reply), users will now see a Visibility dropdown instead of the previous anonymous toggle.
+
+
+### Visibility Modes
+The dropdown includes three options:
+1) Post Publicly (default)
+  * Visible to all users who can access the topic
+  * Author identity is shown normally
+2) Post Anonymously
+  * Visible to all users
+  * Author identity is masked
+  * Fully compatible with the existing anonymous system
+3) Post to Instructors
+  * Visible only to:
+    * The post/topic author
+    * Administrators (instructors/moderators)
+  * Hidden from other students
+
+The selected option is stored as:<br>
+visibilityMode = public | anonymous | instructors
+
+### How Instructor-Only Posts Work
+Instructor-only posts are restricted at the read level.<br>
+Access is granted only if:
+* You are the author of the post, OR
+* You are an admin/moderator (instructor)
+
+
+All other users:
+* Cannot see the post
+* Cannot access its raw content
+* Will not see it in topic listings
+
+
+Instructor-only topics are also filtered out for non-author, non-admin users.
+
+### Anonymous Compatibility
+This update preserves full backward compatibility with the existing anonymous posting system:
+* The legacy “anonymous” flag still exists
+* visibilityMode = anonymous maps internally to the anonymous behavior
+* Author masking logic remains unchanged
+* Composer logic includes a compatibility fallback to prevent regressions
+
+
+### Where This Applies
+The visibility dropdown appears in:
+* New Topic Composer
+* Quick Reply Composer
+
+
+Both composers use the same visibility system.
+
+### Testing Instructions
+Build and Run<br>
+./nodebb build<br>
+./nodebb restart<br>
+Run full test suite:<br>
+npm test<br>
+
+### Manual Verification
+1) Open Quick Reply and confirm the dropdown appears.
+2) Confirm default selection is Post Publicly.
+3) Create:
+    * One Public post
+    * One Anonymous post
+    * One Instructor-only post
+4) Verify:
+    * Anonymous posts mask identity
+    * Instructor-only posts are visible only to author + admin
+    * Regular users cannot see instructor-only posts
+

public/openapi/components/schemas/PostObject.yaml

@@ -21,6 +21,15 @@ PostObject:
     sourceContent:
       type: string
       nullable: true
+    anonymous:
+      type: string
+      default: 'false'
+    visibilityMode:
+      type: string
+      enum:
+        - public
+        - anonymous
+        - instructors
     uid:
       type: number
       description: A user identifier
@@ -173,6 +182,12 @@ PostDataObject:
         anonymous:
           type: string
           default: 'false'
+        visibilityMode:
+          type: string
+          enum:
+            - public
+            - anonymous
+            - instructors
         timestamp:
           type: number
         votes:

public/openapi/components/schemas/TopicObject.yaml

@@ -235,6 +235,12 @@ TopicObjectSlim:
           type: number
         titleRaw:
           type: string
+        visibilityMode:
+          type: string
+          enum:
+            - public
+            - anonymous
+            - instructors
         locked:
           type: number
         pinned:

public/src/modules/quickreply.js

@@ -52,6 +52,14 @@ define('quickreply', [
 				element.val(text);
 			},
 		});
+		const visibilityEl = components.get('topic/quickreply/visibility');
+		const anonymizeEl = components.get('topic/quickreply/anonymize');
+		if (visibilityEl.length && anonymizeEl.length) {
+			anonymizeEl.prop('checked', visibilityEl.val() === 'anonymous');
+			visibilityEl.on('change', function () {
+				anonymizeEl.prop('checked', $(this).val() === 'anonymous');
+			});
+		}
 
 		let ready = true;
 		components.get('topic/quickreply/button').on('click', function (e) {
@@ -60,14 +68,23 @@ define('quickreply', [
 				return;
 			}
 
-			var anonymous = (components.get('topic/quickreply/anonymize').prop('checked')) ? 'true' : 'false';
+			const visibilityEl = components.get('topic/quickreply/visibility');
+			const anonymousEl = components.get('topic/quickreply/anonymize');
+			let visibilityMode = 'public';
+			if (visibilityEl.length) {
+				visibilityMode = visibilityEl.val() || 'public';
+			} else if (anonymousEl.length && anonymousEl.prop('checked')) {
+				visibilityMode = 'anonymous';
+			}
+			var anonymous = visibilityMode === 'anonymous' ? 'true' : 'false';
 
 			const replyMsg = element.val();
 			const replyData = {
 				tid: ajaxify.data.tid,
 				handle: undefined,
 				content: replyMsg,
 				anonymous: anonymous,
+				visibilityMode: visibilityMode,
 			};
 			const replyLen = replyMsg.length;
 			if (replyLen < parseInt(config.minimumPostLength, 10)) {
@@ -86,6 +103,7 @@ define('quickreply', [
 				}
 				if (data && data.queued) {
 					data.anonymous = anonymous;
+					data.visibilityMode = visibilityMode;
 					alerts.alert({
 						type: 'success',
 						title: '[[global:alert.success]]',
@@ -98,6 +116,7 @@ define('quickreply', [
 					});
 				}
 				data.anonymous = anonymous;
+				data.visibilityMode = visibilityMode;
 				element.val('');
 				storage.removeItem(qrDraftId);
 				QuickReply._autocomplete.hide();
@@ -123,10 +142,19 @@ define('quickreply', [
 			e.preventDefault();
 			storage.removeItem(qrDraftId);
 			const textEl = components.get('topic/quickreply/text');
+			const visibilityEl = components.get('topic/quickreply/visibility');
+			const anonymizeEl = components.get('topic/quickreply/anonymize');
+			let visibilityMode = 'public';
+			if (visibilityEl.length) {
+				visibilityMode = visibilityEl.val() || 'public';
+			} else if (anonymizeEl.length && anonymizeEl.prop('checked')) {
+				visibilityMode = 'anonymous';
+			}
 			hooks.fire('action:composer.post.new', {
 				tid: ajaxify.data.tid,
 				title: ajaxify.data.titleRaw,
 				body: textEl.val(),
+				visibilityMode: visibilityMode,
 			});
 			textEl.val('');
 		});

src/api/posts.js

@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ const websockets = require('../socket.io');
 const socketHelpers = require('../socket.io/helpers');
 const translator = require('../translator');
 const notifications = require('../notifications');
+const postVisibility = require('../posts/visibility');
 
 const postsAPI = module.exports;
 
@@ -30,7 +31,8 @@ postsAPI.get = async function (caller, data) {
 	]);
 	const userPrivilege = userPrivileges[0];
 
-	if (!post || !userPrivilege.read || !userPrivilege['topics:read']) {
+	const isAdmin = await postVisibility.isViewerAdmin(caller.uid);
+	if (!post || !userPrivilege.read || !userPrivilege['topics:read'] || !postVisibility.canViewPost(post, caller.uid, isAdmin)) {
 		return null;
 	}
 
@@ -46,7 +48,14 @@ postsAPI.get = async function (caller, data) {
 };
 
 postsAPI.getIndex = async (caller, { pid, sort }) => {
-	const tid = await posts.getPostField(pid, 'tid');
+	const [tid, postData, isAdmin] = await Promise.all([
+		posts.getPostField(pid, 'tid'),
+		posts.getPostFields(pid, ['uid', 'visibilityMode', 'anonymous']),
+		postVisibility.isViewerAdmin(caller.uid),
+	]);
+	if (!postVisibility.canViewPost(postData, caller.uid, isAdmin)) {
+		return null;
+	}
 	const topicPrivileges = await privileges.topics.get(tid, caller.uid);
 	if (!topicPrivileges.read || !topicPrivileges['topics:read']) {
 		return null;
@@ -63,6 +72,9 @@ postsAPI.getSummary = async (caller, { pid }) => {
 	}
 
 	const postsData = await posts.getPostSummaryByPids([pid], caller.uid, { stripTags: false });
+	if (!postsData.length) {
+		return null;
+	}
 	posts.modifyPostByPrivilege(postsData[0], topicPrivileges);
 	return postsData[0];
 };
@@ -74,10 +86,17 @@ postsAPI.getRaw = async (caller, { pid }) => {
 		return null;
 	}
 
-	const postData = await posts.getPostFields(pid, ['content', 'deleted']);
-	const selfPost = caller.uid && caller.uid === parseInt(postData.uid, 10);
-
-	if (postData.deleted && !(userPrivilege.isAdminOrMod || selfPost)) {
+	const [postData, isAdmin] = await Promise.all([
+		posts.getPostFields(pid, ['content', 'deleted', 'uid', 'visibilityMode', 'anonymous']),
+		postVisibility.isViewerAdmin(caller.uid),
+	]);
+	if (!postData) {
+		return null;
+	}
+	if (!postVisibility.canViewPost(postData, caller.uid, isAdmin)) {
+		return null;
+	}
+	if (postData.deleted && !userPrivilege.isAdminOrMod) {
 		return null;
 	}
 	postData.pid = pid;
@@ -558,10 +577,17 @@ postsAPI.getReplies = async (caller, { pid }) => {
 		throw new Error('[[error:invalid-data]]');
 	}
 	const { uid } = caller;
-	const canRead = await privileges.posts.can('topics:read', pid, caller.uid);
+	const [canRead, parentPost, isAdmin] = await Promise.all([
+		privileges.posts.can('topics:read', pid, caller.uid),
+		posts.getPostFields(pid, ['uid', 'visibilityMode', 'anonymous']),
+		postVisibility.isViewerAdmin(caller.uid),
+	]);
 	if (!canRead) {
 		return null;
 	}
+	if (!postVisibility.canViewPost(parentPost, caller.uid, isAdmin)) {
+		return null;
+	}
 
 	const { topicPostSort } = await user.getSettings(uid);
 	const pids = await posts.getPidsFromSet(`pid:${pid}:replies`, 0, -1, topicPostSort === 'newest_to_oldest');

src/api/topics.js

@@ -41,6 +41,7 @@ topicsAPI.get = async function (caller, data) {
 		!topic ||
 		!userPrivileges.read ||
 		!userPrivileges['topics:read'] ||
+		!await topics.canViewTopic(topic, caller.uid) ||
 		!privileges.topics.canViewDeletedScheduled(topic, userPrivileges)
 	) {
 		return null;

src/controllers/composer.js

@@ -47,6 +47,8 @@ exports.post = async function (req, res) {
 		timestamp: Date.now(),
 		content: body.content,
 		handle: body.handle,
+		visibilityMode: body.visibilityMode,
+		anonymous: body.anonymous,
 		fromQueue: false,
 	};
 	req.body.noscript = 'true';

src/controllers/posts.js

@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ const posts = require('../posts');
 const privileges = require('../privileges');
 const activitypub = require('../activitypub');
 const utils = require('../utils');
+const postVisibility = require('../posts/visibility');
 
 const helpers = require('./helpers');
 
@@ -27,14 +28,16 @@ postsController.redirectToPost = async function (req, res, next) {
 		}
 	}
 
-	const [canRead, path] = await Promise.all([
+	const [canRead, path, postData, isAdmin] = await Promise.all([
 		privileges.posts.can('topics:read', pid, req.uid),
 		posts.generatePostPath(pid, req.uid),
+		posts.getPostFields(pid, ['uid', 'visibilityMode', 'anonymous']),
+		postVisibility.isViewerAdmin(req.uid),
 	]);
 	if (!path) {
 		return next();
 	}
-	if (!canRead) {
+	if (!canRead || !postVisibility.canViewPost(postData, req.uid, isAdmin)) {
 		return helpers.notAllowed(req, res);
 	}
 

src/controllers/topics.js

@@ -35,6 +35,9 @@ topicsController.get = async function getTopic(req, res, next) {
 	if (!topicData) {
 		return next();
 	}
+	if (!await topics.canViewTopic(topicData, req.uid)) {
+		return helpers.notAllowed(req, res);
+	}
 	const [
 		userPrivileges,
 		settings,
@@ -393,6 +396,9 @@ topicsController.pagination = async function (req, res, next) {
 	if (!topic) {
 		return next();
 	}
+	if (!await topics.canViewTopic(topic, req.uid)) {
+		return helpers.notAllowed(req, res);
+	}
 	const [userPrivileges, settings] = await Promise.all([
 		privileges.topics.get(tid, req.uid),
 		user.getSettings(req.uid),

src/posts/create.js

@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ const categories = require('../categories');
 const groups = require('../groups');
 const activitypub = require('../activitypub');
 const utils = require('../utils');
+const postVisibility = require('./visibility');
 
 module.exports = function (Posts) {
 	Posts.create = async function (data) {
@@ -29,7 +30,8 @@ module.exports = function (Posts) {
 
 		const pid = data.pid || await db.incrObjectField('global', 'nextPid');
 		let postData = { pid, uid, tid, content, sourceContent, timestamp };
-		postData.anonymous = data.anonymous || false;
+		postData.visibilityMode = postVisibility.normalizeVisibilityMode(data.visibilityMode, data.anonymous);
+		postData.anonymous = postData.visibilityMode === 'anonymous' ? 'true' : 'false';
 
 		if (data.toPid) {
 			postData.toPid = data.toPid;