Higher Logic has noticed abuses of the blog-creation process by spam bots on some customer sites. Because spam bloggers can upload files and include unwanted content when creating a blog, we recommend limiting this access to only verified users whom your organization would like to have blogging privileges.

What we've done

On August 6, 2021, Higher Logic deployed a new Security Group, HLBlogger, to all sites. Moving forward, users must belong to this Security Group to create or edit blogs.

Whether or not any action is required on your part depends on whether you've already locked down blog creation via a custom Security Group. Refer to the section below applicable to your situation.

Steps for customers who have already implemented custom blog-creation practices

If you have set a custom Security Group view permission for your site's post-to-your-blog page and/or the Blog Editor widget, Higher Logic will automatically move all users from your custom blog Security Group(s) to the HLBlogger Security Group, ensuring no disruption is experienced for users who blog across your community.

IMPORTANT: Action is required if you've employed Automation Rules to grant blogging permissions. If this is the case, be sure to update any associated Automation Rules to also point to the new HLBlogger Security Group.

Steps for customers who have not yet implemented custom blog-creation practices

As stated above, all community users who are to have blogging privileges in your community must be added to the new HLBlogger Security Group.

Ways to add users to the HLBlogger Security Group

There are three ways to add users to a Security Group:

1. individually,
2. by bulk uploading via a .csv file,
3. or by leveraging Automation Rules.

Refer to the method below best suited to your needs.

Method 1 - Add individual User

1. In the Admin Toolbar, click Admin.

2. Navigate to Users > List.

3. Select a user in the list.
4. Click Edit.
5. In the resulting dialog, click the HL Managed Security Groups field and select HLBlogger.

6. Click Save at the bottom of the dialog to assign the Security Group to the user.

Method 2 - Bulk-add Users

With this method, you can bulk-add users to the HLBlogger Security Group by uploading a .csv file of users' email addresses or integration keys.

1. Prepare your .csv file.
2. In the Admin Toolbar, click Admin.
3. Navigate to Users > Security Groups.

4. Click the security group upload icon above the list.

5. Select the HLBlogger Security Group.
6. Select the upload method: via email addresses or integration keys.

NOTE: Click the Example File option to see an example of how the .csv file should be constructed. The same sample file displays whether Email Address or Integration Key is selected and has id as the column header.

7. Click Choose File and browse for the .csv file.
8. Click Upload, followed by Yes in the confirmation dialog.

Method 3 - Assign via Automation Rules

We recommend creating an Automation Rule to assign users to the HLBlogger Security Group who meet the defined criteria (e.g., has written more than a specified number of discussion post(s) and/or has made at least one discussion post within the last specified number of days). This will not only automate the process but also ensure only actual members are added, as spam accounts would be less likely to qualify for the set criteria.

1. In the Admin Toolbar, click Admin.
2. Navigate to Users > Automation > Automation Rules.

3. At the top-right of the page, click Create.
4. From the first dropdown, select Add to a Security Group.
5. Next, set the Automation Rule's criteria; these are the conditions that must be met before a user will be added to the Security Group.
   
   Click the second dropdown and select a criterion (e.g., has written more than X number of discussion post(s). Then, click Add.

6. Select the HLBlogger Security Group.
7. Define your selected criterion (e.g., has written more than 3 discussion posts).
8. Give this Automation Rule a name (e.g., HLBlogger).
9. At the top of the page, toggle the rule to Scheduled so it's active and ready to be run per the defined schedule.

10. When it comes to saving your rule, you have two options:

1. Click Save to run the rule when designated by the schedule.
2. Click Save and Run Now from the dropdown to immediately queue the rule for processing.

NOTE: All rules are processed on a "first come, first served" basis. While this is the best method to run a rule quickly, it's not instantaneous; how quickly it runs depends on how many other rules you have in the queue.

How to see who belongs to HLBlogger

As time goes on, you'll want to check to see who belongs to the HLBlogger Security Group. Let's take a look at a quick way to do so.

1. In the Admin Toolbar, click Admin.

2. Navigate to Users > List.

3. Click the Filter icon, located above the list (top right).
4. In the dialog, click Security Group > HLBlogger.
5. Click Apply to view all users belonging to the HLBlogger Security Group.

TIP: To remove this filter to view the full list:

1. Click the Filter icon again.
2. Click Clear Filter.
3. Click Apply.