Channel / subchannel password protection / server groups

[metalappie]

First of I'm amazed TeamSpeak has decided to have subchannels not inherit channel permissions and passwords. And while I have read the reasoning behind all this I still think it's the dumbest thing they could have done. Primarily because a lot of people don't have the knowledge to set things up in such a way they have areas on their TS3 server that really ARE private.

I have just discovered areas of my TS3 server I thought were protected by a password are open to everyone because of this. That to me is something I really don't like because when I tell people areas are private I expect them to be private. In this world where privacy is a big concern I at least expected TeamSpeak to keep this in mind.

I mean, I saw threads of guys with servers with over 300+ channels on it and they were told to just password protect all those channels? I mean, seriously? What kind of answer is that?

Alright, now onto my question since I am one of those guys who does not know how to secure his TS3 server in an easy way. Yeah, I tried to set up server groups and such, but I don't understand anything of it. What I would like is to be given a link or a tutorial that describes how I can achieve the following.

Channel 1 (open to the public)
--Subchannel 1.1 (open to the public)
--Subchannel 1.2 (open to the public)
--Subchannel 1.3 (passworded)
----Subchannel 1.3.1 (passworded)
----Subchannel 1.3.2 (passworded)
Channel 2 (registered members only)
--Subchannel 2.1 (registered members only)
--Subchannel 2.2 (registered members only)
Channel 3 (clan members only)
--Subchannel 3.1 (clan members only)
--Subchannel 3.2 (clan members only)
----Subchannel 3.2.1 (certain clan members only)
------Subchannel 3.2.1.1 (certain clan members only)

I hope the above diagram is clear. I need to know how to set up groups with that kind of access level, because on here all I see is threads that are not concise enough. TS3's tutorials are also not helpful.

Big big error here guys. I switched to TS3 because it offered more flexibility in terms of subchannels, but now I wish I would have stayed with TS2 because at least that version did the inheritance thing right.

Sorry for the sharp tone, but I value privacy very high and this just is one of those things that really ticks me off in the privacy department.

[metalappie]

Alright, I did some more digging and after watching a video on YouTube I think I got it.

First let me explain the Server Groups I'm having and their access levels.

1. Command Staff (admins and clan management - highest access levels - channel power: 75)
2. Support Staff (support the Command Staff - highest access levels - channel power: 75)
3. Clan members (clan members - access to everything but some passworded areas - channel power: 60)
4. Registered members (other non-clan people - access to public area and registered member area - channel power: 50)
5. Guest (visitors - access to public area only - channel power: 0 (value was empty, do I need to enter a value here?))

To make sure you guys understand, I entered these values at the Channel Join Power and Channel Subscribe Power options for each Server Group. Except the Guest Server Group because the values in there were already empty. Or do I still need to enter a value there?

I then entered the same values into the Needed Channel Join Power and Needed Channel Subscribe Power options for the channels I want to restrict access to.

So, for our Public area (Channel 1 in my first post) the channel power level needed to join equals to 0 and Subchannels 1.3, 1.3.1 and 1.3.2 are password protected. Right as they should be I think? After all this will give everybody access to this area right?

Channel 2 (our Registered members area) requires a channel power level of 50. If I understood correctly this value will only give those with a channel power of 50 or higher access to this channel, being Registered members, Clan members and Support and Command Staff. One question though, if somebody with a lower channel power clicks on one of the subchannels can he or she still access them?

Channel 3 (the clan only area) requires a channel power of 60 and above and the same rules as with Channel 2 apply, only not to the Registered members Server Group.

My question is now, is this enough to prevent access to areas certain people should not be in? If not, what else do I need to do?

[metalappie]

Well, that didn't work. I am now totally lost here.

This system is really starting to tick me off even more. Isn't there an easier way?

[poisonpanik]

Here's a basic idea for what you want to do.

Public channels don't need any special permissions
Registered/Member channels need to have needed_join_power set

Registered server group needs a join_power equal to or greater than the registered channel needed_join_power.

On my server we limited guests only to the default channel and sub-channels. They can't even see clients outside of the channel they are in.

Below is a link to a spreadsheet that contains all of the settings we use on our server.

https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?...lE&hl=en#gid=0

[metalappie]

Thank you. I'll have a look.

Just to give you an idea, here's what I tried just now, all I need is to know if this will work or not.

1. Server Groups. I deleted the ones I created myself, but left the original ones.
2. The Server Groups have the following Join Power and Subscribe Power set:
   
   • Server Admins - Channel Join and Subscribe Power: 75
   • Normal - Channel Join and Subscribe Power: 50
   • Guest - Channel Join and Subscribe Power: 0
3. Channel Groups. I created some new Channel Groups with the following Join Power and Subscribe Power:
   
   • Command Staff - Channel Join and Suscribe Power: 75
   • Support Staff - Channel Join and Subscribe Power: 75
   • Clan members - Channel Join and Subscribe Power: 60
   • Registered members - Channel Join and Subscribe Power: 50
   • Guest - Channel Join and Subscribe Power: 0
4. Channel Permissions. I set the following options for those:
   
   • For Channel 1 (the Public channel):
     
     • Needed Channel Join Power: 0
     • Needed Channel Subscribe Power: 0
   • For Channel 2 (Registered members channel):
     
     • Needed Channel Join Power: 50
     • Needed Channel Subscribe Power: 50
   • For Channel 3 (Clan only area):
     
     • Needed Channel Join Power: 60
     • Needed Channel Subscribe Power: 60

Now I have a few questions.

1. Is this the basic idea behind setting up restricted areas?
2. If I set an option for Channel X, are these settings inherited by the subchannels in Channel X? Or do I have to set all Needed Join and Subscribe Powers for every subchannel in Channel X?
3. What actually handles the access? The Server Groups or Channel Groups? So far I used Server Groups, but it didn't work.

Thanks for your assistance so far. I really appreciate it. I just don't understand how this works and so far everything I found wasn't clear enough for me.

[poisonpanik]

That looks good but I think you want to make your channel groups into server groups. A client can only be a member of 1 channel group at a time and it can change depending on the channel they are in. If the group is a server group it remains constant no matter what channel they join.

Currently channels do not inherit permissions but this is on the devs to-do list for a future release.

[metalappie]

So, just to make sure I understood you correctly.

I just set up the Server Groups like the Channel Groups I created.

I then set the Needed Join and Subscribe Power options for ALL channels and subchannels that need the appropriate access restriction?

Do I actually have to assign Channel Groups to clients? Or can I dismiss that because everything is handled by the Server Group they're in?

[poisonpanik]

You are correct. You do not have to use channel groups if you don't want. On my server we set the default group to voice and removed all the permissions except for a few. When people claim their server has been hacked it is usually a permission issue and the most common problem is a user creates a channel and becomes channel admin of that channel which could potentially give them the power to add themselves to the server admin server group.

[metalappie]

Alright, I added all the settings listed above to several Server Groups. But it's again not working.

I tried signing in with a test user, added him to one of the special Server Groups (Join Power 50+) but once I tried to access the restricted areas you were supposed to be able to access I get the following error:

insufficient client permissions (failed on i_channel_join_power)

I am sure the Server Group has the proper Power, as well as the Channel Group.

Now what am I doing wrong now? I never saw a system so tedious and unnecessary complicated.

The devs either fix this or I may just go back to TS2 because this system sucks big time.

[poisonpanik]

PM me your server info and I'll try and stop in later today.

[metalappie]

What server info do you need? If you want admin access, I'm not sure if I am allowed to give you that info. After all I admin it but do not really own it. If it's the server address you need I can surely send it to you.

But I did everything you said, as listed here.

1. Server Groups. I created some new Server Groups with the following Join Power and Subscribe Power:
   
   • Command Staff - Channel Join and Suscribe Power: 75
   • Support Staff - Channel Join and Subscribe Power: 75
   • Clan members - Channel Join and Subscribe Power: 60
   • Registered members - Channel Join and Subscribe Power: 50
   • Guest - Channel Join and Subscribe Power: 0
2. Channel Permissions. I set the following options for those:
   
   • For Channel 1 and all subchannels (the Public channel):
     
     • Needed Channel Join Power: 0
     • Needed Channel Subscribe Power: 0
   • For Channel 2 and all subchannels (Registered members channel):
     
     • Needed Channel Join Power: 50
     • Needed Channel Subscribe Power: 50
   • For Channel 3 and all subchannels (Clan only area):
     
     • Needed Channel Join Power: 60
     • Needed Channel Subscribe Power: 60

Now, when I add a Guest to say the Registered members Server Group they can't join that channel or any subchannel in it? Another odd thing is when I drag them to a particular channel and add them to a Channel Group with relevant Join Power it only works for that channel?

Another question: what value do I have to change? The normal Needed Channel Join Power or the Grant Needed Channel Join Power? What do both values do?

UPDATE: I reverted all changes I've made so our members at least can join channels. I'm leaving this be for the rest of the day because I live in Western Europe and need some sleep We'll see about the problem again tomorrow.

[poisonpanik]

PM me the IP/port/password and I will try and stop by tomorrow and help you with this.

[metalappie]

Alright. Sending PM now...

[Screech]

Make sure to set skip for the join and subscribe powers of your server groups if you plan to use them to control channel access. If the channel group has one of these set and the server group is not set to skip, the channel group overrides the server group.

Review permissions tier layout.

[Tomas]

I mean, I saw threads of guys with servers with over 300+ channels on it and they were told to just password protect all those channels? I mean, seriously? What kind of answer is that?
....

What is so hard on setting a password on entire server? if you want it as you said "PRIVATE". <sarcasm>

Now, when I add a Guest to say the Registered members Server Group they can't join that channel or any subchannel in it? Another odd thing is when I drag them to a particular channel and add them to a Channel Group with relevant Join Power it only works for that channel?

Yes, that is my favorite beauty of permissions there. You don't need any server-groups for channel separation
Default (0subchannels)
clanA (x subchannels, inheritate permissions given in this channel)
clanB (z subchannels, inheritate permissions given in this channel)
communityC (y subchannels, inheritate permissions given in this channel)
clanD (v subchannels, inheritate permissions given in this channel)