Ok, then the second suggestion should help you. Please try it.

Could you please explain what have you done, and how are you testing the result (what is your user usergroup)?

Also please leave some screenshots of the permissions and Forums > Tools > Antispam admin page.

And please make sure you've deleted all caches in Dashboard > Forums > Dashboard admin page

The wording 'Can pass moderation'  is a bit confusing, 🤔 it wasn't till I came here, that I realised what it actually  meant. I understand in retrospect , but it sounds a bit like the user has moderation somehow. 

How about reverse the question and has a checkbox ' requires moderation' instead?

Blank you get a clear run, checked ,you require moderation... seems clearer. 😊

Posted by: Robert

The permission "Can pass moderation" allows to not put every topic and post in moderation queue. But they still under wpForo Spam Control. If some topic or post of a new user is suspected it'll be set unapproved automatically. Only new registered users topic and posts are under Spam Control. So I'd recommend keep it instead of disabling. In any case you can decrease New Registered User level or Disable wpForo Spam Control in Dashboard > Forums > Tools > Antispam admin page.

Ok, this is very confusing. What I want is that only topics/replies that fall below the spam filter to be put in the moderation queue. Everything else should post immediately.

How do I set wpForo for this?

only topics/replies that fall below the spam

That's very hard to differ spam content. So the spam suspicion is not 100% accurate. Some non-spamy topics and posts of new registered users can also be marked as unapproved. New registered user level can be set in Dashboard > Forums > Tools admin page. You can set it "1" (min number of post to track user as new registered user).

Also you can decrease spam suspicion level on the same admin page and set them e.g. 10 / 10

You should keep enabled the "Can pass moderation" permission for users and Install Akismet for more accurate spam detection. It'll be automatically integrated with wpForo.