Basic message implementation

application/model/UserModel.php

@@ -375,4 +375,31 @@ class UserModel
         // return one row (we only have one result or nothing)
         return $query->fetch();
     }
+    
+    /**
+     * Gets the user role type based on account type
+     *
+     * @param $user_id int user id
+     *
+     * @return string The user role (admin, moderator, user)
+     */
+    public static function getUserRole($user_id)
+    {
+        $database = DatabaseFactory::getFactory()->getConnection();
+        
+        $sql = "SELECT user_account_type FROM users WHERE user_id = :user_id LIMIT 1";
+        $query = $database->prepare($sql);
+        $query->execute(array(':user_id' => $user_id));
+        $result = $query->fetch();
+        
+        // Map account type to role
+        switch ($result->user_account_type) {
+            case 7: // admin
+                return 'admin';
+            case 2: // moderator (example value, adjust according to your system)
+                return 'moderator';
+            default:
+                return 'user';
+        }
+    }
 }