My task is to create a Drupal 7 site to be used as an employee portal. Functionality required at first is Forums, with future content of various other types.
I've created a site using various modules, but it is unsatisfactory. Most of the dissatisfaction relates around access control issues. The employee portal must be locked down, no anonymous users may have access to it. The Forums must be private, and some forums must not allow topics to be created by 'Authenticated' users, while others may have topics started by any 'Authenticated' users.
These requirements seem difficult to achieve in Drupal. While 'Front Page' provides a method to display content specifically for anonymous users before they log in, it doesn't actually provide security to prevent access to various paths. (Default views created for Forums, for instance, are readily accessible if a user knows the path (/forum/active).
I want absolutely everything except the login forms to be locked out. I would like to present a message to the users before they log in, however security comes first.
Front Page - Works as designed, presents different information for different roles, but does not provide security.
Forums - Basic functionality of forums - missing most features required
Advanced Forums - No full fledged access controls
Forum Access - Good, but not good enough granularity.