I just installed and set up the phpBB plugin and it does not do what I expected. We have paid memberships through Amember. We allow anyone to register to post on the forum, paid member or not. - we need a paid member use the forum login as the amember login without logging in to Amember too, and vice versa - ie, login to one is login to both. - we need a paid member to automatically be added as a forum member when they subscribe to a product. - we need paid members to have access to a members-only subforum. It seems that the only thing the phpBB plugin can do right now is restrict access to the entire forum based on a subscription, and it does not coordinate logins between Amember and phpBB. Is that correct?
I've been working with the plugin over the last month. I bought it too. I'll wait for admin to step in, but from what I see through testing it so far , it does most of what you say. A person can log into phpBB forum WITHOUT having to first log into aMember. When a user pays for the upgrade to your sub forum - they pay through aMember. aMember will change their user group (the one you set up that allows paid access to your sub forum). When they are no longer a paid member, they are switched back to the user group of your choice (the one you select in aMember as your "default group" - probably registered users (non paid) in your case). The login user and password are the same - so yes logins are coordinated, but you have to choose aMember to manage it. For example, if a user changes their password inside phpBB, it will change and be different than the one in aMember. However, as soon as you rebuild your aMember databases, the user's password will reset back to the one stored in aMember - meaning the changed password will not work anymore. Just giving you an example of how things work. phpBB does not control aMember. It's the other way around. I believe it is best to redirect your registration page for your forum to an aMember sign up page - be it free access or paid access. Keeps things consistent and less potential problems. If you want registration at the forum page, I don't believe aMember will "automatically" pick up your forum database and add it to it's own without you importing it somehow. It does not restrict access to the entire forum unless you set it up that way based on the groups you chose inside aMember, under Phpbb Integration Settings.