By CdnStrangequark on

I originally posted this in the general forum, but I don't think it ever got viewed. Perhaps that was the wrong place for it so I'm posting it again here, since it is, I think, a very valid suggestion for a modification to the core.

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I'm developing a site which has numerous roles for users. What I would really like to have is two separate sets of Profiles, each of which could be associated with a few different roles.

I can't help but think that the user roles and profiles could be better arranged like a taxonomy. You have your root vocabulary entry (let's call it the User Vocabulary), which Authenticated User is always a part of. Then you could add terms to that vocabulary to define roles (and sub-roles too, if needed). Then, when you create a set of profile questions, you select which term (role) in the User Vocabulary they apply to. Profile questions set to a specific term would apply to all sub-terms (sub-roles) in that term's tree.

I realise that this would require a large rewrite to the Profile and User modules, but I think it would be well worth the effort. It makes the user role design consistent with the existing Drupal Taxonomy, which makes the whole thing easier to learn. Additionally it adds incredible robustness to the entire user system. This would make Drupal much more attractive to large-scale operations as well as maintain the simplicity that currently exists for smaller sites.

I am a fairly competant and experienced PHP programmer and would be willing to help out where I can with this. Unfortunately, I cannot spear-head the project myself because I'm too busy managing and developing Drupal-powered sites for various organizations and personal ventures, on top of the time I need to spend on my education and sports.