Adding a User Account in the Admin
To add a user account through the admin you must first log in with an account that has permissions to do so. The 'root' account is a good place to start.
Click on "Users" and then "Add User". You will be presented with a short form. Fill out the Login, Email and Password fields, those are required. The name fields are optional. There is a CAPTCHA that is used to prevent automated programs from creating accounts. This presently shows up in the admin because we are using the same form file as we do for the public 'join' page and it may be removed in the future. Follow the instructions to prove you're a human and your user account will be created!
Permissions
The Mercury system aloows users to do certain things based on their permissions. When you view a user profile in the admin you will see a link for "Permissions". Click that you will be presented with a list of permissions that you can grant to a given account. Select the desired permissions, click Update and you're done!
User permissions are initialized when a person logs in. If someone is already logged into the site and you modify their permissions those changes will not take effect until the next time that they log in.