\label{Roles_About}

LON-CAPA has two basic types of Roles, {}``domain'' and {}``course''
roles.

While LON-CAPA is a role based system, a {}``role'' is really a
collection of {}``permissions'', such as {}``permission to post''
or {}``permission to change student grades''. For a complete list
of currently existing permissions, please consult \texttt{/home/httpd/lonTabs/rolesplain.tab}
in a LON-CAPA install. For a complete definition of the various roles
described below, consult the \texttt{/home/httpd/lonTabs/roles.tab},
in conjunction with the \texttt{rolesplain.tab} file. 

Domain Administrators and Course Coordinators can create custom roles,
so the following only discusses the roles that LON-CAPA ships with,
and is not necessarily an exhaustive list, just the common ones. As
a developer, it is generally better to look at the \emph{permissions}
a user has when determining whether they can perform an action, rather
then their specific role.

{}``Domain'' roles are roles that apply to the domain in general.
The standard domain roles are:

\begin{itemize}
\item \textbf{Domain adminstrator}\index{Domain Adminstrator}: The domain
adminstrator is the {}``superuser'' of that domain. The administrator
can create new users or modify existing users, create new courses,
and assign any role to users for domain or course roles in that domain.
They do not actually have direct control over courses being run in
that domain, but they can freely assign themselves {}``Course Coordinator''
roles for any course in the domain, so they do theoretically have
access to all information in their domain.
\item \textbf{Librarian}\index{Librarian}: The librarian has access to
all the resources in the domain. As the name implies this is generally
for cataloging purposes.
\item \textbf{Domain Guest}\index{Domain Guest}: A Domain Guest has the
priviledges to log on to a domain and view public resources, but does
not belong to any course or have any other priviledges.
\item \textbf{Author}\index{Author}: An author has an authoring space and
the privilidge to create new resources. Please see the Author's Manual
for more information about what an Author can do (http://msu.loncapa.org/adm/help/author.manual.pdf).
\end{itemize}
{}``Course'' roles apply to specific courses. The standard roles
are:

\begin{itemize}
\item \textbf{Course Coordinator}\index{Course Coordinator}: The Course
Coordinator has full control over the course, including assigning
roles in the course and such. Typically the person {}``most responsible''
for the course will be given this role, which if there is only one
instructor will be that instructor.
\item \textbf{Instructor}\index{Instructor}: Has power over the students
in the course, but can not assign roles or do other {}``admin''
type things. This role can also be attached to a specific section.
\item \textbf{Student}\index{Student}: Has permission to view the course,
do the homework, use the communication mechanisms unless specifically
banned by the instructors, and little else.
\item \textbf{Teaching Assistant}\index{Teaching Assistant}: Can view and
modify grades of other students, and delete messages from the course
discussion. Can be limited to sections.
\item \textbf{Exam Proctor}\index{Exam Proctor}: Can set grades for students.
Very limited.
\end{itemize}
For an exhaustive list and description of the roles LON-CAPA ships
with, see \texttt{www.loncapa.org/roles.html}.