Will this mean they are forced into moderation for first post? Or just harder scrutiny by spam filters

The first post will be under hard suspicion and scan. It doesn't mean all first posts of all new users will be set unapproved.

• What do these numbers mean?
• WHat's the maximum and minimum?
• And does a higher number mean more scrutiny or less? It's hard to know.

These numbers starts from 1 to 100. It's the spam suspicion level. If the number is high wpForo Spam control suspicion is also high and it'll set topics and posts as unaproved when it finds some small issue.

Let me know if you need more details.

• Definitely Install Akismet
• Definitely Enable "Can pass moderation"
  • I'm curious about the note on the Dashboard > Forum >Tools page that says, "This control don't affect users whose Usergroup has "Can edit member" and "Can pass moderation" permissions." Do both of those need to be set for this control not to affect them? Or just either one. I'm guessing from your replies that it would need to be both, but that's unclear on the page.
• Set "User is New (under hard spam control) during first posts" to 1
  • Will this mean they are forced into moderation for first post? Or just harder scrutiny by spam filters
• Set Spam Suspicion Levels for Topics and posts to 10
  • What do these numbers mean?
  • WHat's the maximum and minimum?
  • And does a higher number mean more scrutiny or less? It's hard to know.
  •  

Thanks!

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.

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?

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

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

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

You should not uncheck it you should check it. I think you're talking about "Can pass moderation" permission in Usergroup Permission list.

Also you can set 1 the option "User is New (under hard spam control) during"  in Dashboard > Forums > Tools admin page. Only new user posts are being checked in moderation functions (if the "can pass moderation" is checked) . You also can disable Antispam in the same page. Make sure you use the latest version of wpFor

My mistake, I meant to say the box is CHECKED as it is in the default install.