Community stations have a wide range of people touching the same machine — full-time staff, volunteers, guest presenters. They need very different levels of access.
The levels
Roles run from superuser and admin down through manager and ordinary users, and different capabilities attach at each level:
- Superuser and admin — view and edit AI connection settings, open AI usage logs, customise keyboard shortcuts.
- Superuser, admin and manager — use AI for playlist, voice track and show prep flows.
- Library and rotation management — gated on their own permissions rather than a single blanket level.
Why shortcuts are restricted
Customising keyboard shortcuts is superuser-only, which surprises people until you consider a shared studio.
Shortcuts are muscle memory, and muscle memory is collective. One presenter remapping the spacebar affects everyone who uses that machine afterwards — and they will not know it changed until something unexpected happens live.
Why AI settings are restricted
Connection settings hold billable credentials. Usage logs hold prompts and outputs, which is effectively a record of what everyone asked for.
Both are administrative concerns. Presenters get the tools without getting the account.
Separating capability from seniority
Library and rotation permissions being separate matters in practice. Your music scheduler may need full rotation access without any interest in AI credentials. A presenter may need show prep without touching the library.
Roles that bundle everything force you to over-grant, which is how a volunteer ends up able to delete a rotation clock.
The practical minimum
Even a two-person station benefits from separating the account that configures things from the account that runs shows. Not because of mistrust — because it makes accidents less likely and easier to trace.