diff --git a/lms/djangoapps/django_comment_client/base/views.py b/lms/djangoapps/django_comment_client/base/views.py
index d921198b16..c21fa6a3f3 100644
--- a/lms/djangoapps/django_comment_client/base/views.py
+++ b/lms/djangoapps/django_comment_client/base/views.py
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ def permitted(fn):
                 content = None
             return content
 
-        if check_permissions_by_view(request.user, fetch_content(), request.view_name):
+        if check_permissions_by_view(request.user, kwargs['course_id'], fetch_content(), request.view_name):
             return fn(request, *args, **kwargs)
         else:
             return JsonError("unauthorized")
diff --git a/lms/djangoapps/django_comment_client/forum/views.py b/lms/djangoapps/django_comment_client/forum/views.py
index 565f683a60..b8f767e8bd 100644
--- a/lms/djangoapps/django_comment_client/forum/views.py
+++ b/lms/djangoapps/django_comment_client/forum/views.py
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ def render_discussion(request, course_id, threads, discussion_id=None, \
         'forum': (lambda: reverse('django_comment_client.forum.views.forum_form_discussion', args=[course_id, discussion_id])),
     }[discussion_type]()
 
-    annotated_content_info = {thread['id']: get_annotated_content_info(thread, request.user, is_thread=True) for thread in threads}
+    annotated_content_info = {thread['id']: get_annotated_content_info(course_id, thread, request.user, is_thread=True) for thread in threads}
 
     context = {
         'threads': threads,
@@ -148,18 +148,18 @@ def forum_form_discussion(request, course_id, discussion_id):
         return render_to_response('discussion/index.html', context)
 
 
-def get_annotated_content_info(content, user, is_thread):
+def get_annotated_content_info(course_id, content, user, is_thread):
     return {
-        'editable': check_permissions_by_view(user, content, "update_thread" if is_thread else "update_comment"),
-        'can_reply': check_permissions_by_view(user, content, "create_comment" if is_thread else "create_sub_comment"),
-        'can_endorse': check_permissions_by_view(user, content, "endorse_comment") if not is_thread else False,
-        'can_delete': check_permissions_by_view(user, content, "delete_thread" if is_thread else "delete_comment"),
+        'editable': check_permissions_by_view(user, course_id, content, "update_thread" if is_thread else "update_comment"),
+        'can_reply': check_permissions_by_view(user, course_id, content, "create_comment" if is_thread else "create_sub_comment"),
+        'can_endorse': check_permissions_by_view(user, course_id, content, "endorse_comment") if not is_thread else False,
+        'can_delete': check_permissions_by_view(user, course_id, content, "delete_thread" if is_thread else "delete_comment"),
     }
 
-def get_annotated_content_infos(thread, user, is_thread=True):
+def get_annotated_content_infos(course_id, thread, user, is_thread=True):
     infos = {}
     def _annotate(content, is_thread=is_thread):
-        infos[str(content['id'])] = get_annotated_content_info(content, user, is_thread)
+        infos[str(content['id'])] = get_annotated_content_info(course_id, content, user, is_thread)
         for child in content.get('children', []):
             _annotate(child, is_thread=False)
     _annotate(thread)
@@ -169,7 +169,7 @@ def render_single_thread(request, discussion_id, course_id, thread_id):
     
     thread = comment_client.get_thread(thread_id, recursive=True)
 
-    annotated_content_info = get_annotated_content_infos(thread=thread, \
+    annotated_content_info = get_annotated_content_infos(course_id, thread=thread, \
                                 user=request.user, is_thread=True)
 
     context = {
@@ -187,7 +187,7 @@ def single_thread(request, course_id, discussion_id, thread_id):
     if request.is_ajax():
         
         thread = comment_client.get_thread(thread_id, recursive=True)
-        annotated_content_info = get_annotated_content_infos(thread, request.user)
+        annotated_content_info = get_annotated_content_infos(course_id, thread, request.user)
         context = {'thread': thread}
         html = render_to_string('discussion/_ajax_single_thread.html', context)
 
diff --git a/lms/djangoapps/django_comment_client/management/__init__.py b/lms/djangoapps/django_comment_client/management/__init__.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..e69de29bb2
diff --git a/lms/djangoapps/django_comment_client/management/commands/__init__.py b/lms/djangoapps/django_comment_client/management/commands/__init__.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..e69de29bb2
diff --git a/lms/djangoapps/django_comment_client/management/commands/assign_role.py b/lms/djangoapps/django_comment_client/management/commands/assign_role.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..82daa34622
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lms/djangoapps/django_comment_client/management/commands/assign_role.py
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+from django.core.management.base import BaseCommand, CommandError
+from django_comment_client.models import Permission, Role
+from django.contrib.auth.models import User
+
+
+class Command(BaseCommand):
+    args = 'user role course_id'
+    help = 'Assign a role to a user'
+
+    def handle(self, *args, **options):
+        role = Role.objects.get(name=args[1], course_id=args[2])
+
+        if '@' in args[0]:
+            user = User.objects.get(email=args[0])
+        else:
+            user = User.objects.get(username=args[0])
+
+        user.roles.add(role)
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/lms/djangoapps/django_comment_client/management/commands/seed_permissions_roles.py b/lms/djangoapps/django_comment_client/management/commands/seed_permissions_roles.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..fd09e97d27
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lms/djangoapps/django_comment_client/management/commands/seed_permissions_roles.py
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+from django.core.management.base import BaseCommand, CommandError
+from django_comment_client.models import Permission, Role
+
+
+class Command(BaseCommand):
+    args = ''
+    help = 'Seed default permisssions and roles'
+
+    def handle(self, *args, **options):
+        moderator_role = Role.objects.get_or_create(name="Moderator", course_id="MITx/6.002x/2012_Fall")[0]
+        student_role = Role.objects.get_or_create(name="Student", course_id="MITx/6.002x/2012_Fall")[0]
+
+        for per in ["vote", "update_thread", "follow_thread", "unfollow_thread",
+                       "update_comment", "create_sub_comment", "unvote" , "create_thread",
+                       "follow_commentable", "unfollow_commentable", "create_comment", ]:
+            student_role.add_permission(per)
+
+        for per in ["edit_content", "delete_thread", "openclose_thread",
+                        "endorse_comment", "delete_comment"]:
+            moderator_role.add_permission(per)
+
+        moderator_role.inherit_permissions(student_role)
diff --git a/lms/djangoapps/django_comment_client/management/commands/show_permissions.py b/lms/djangoapps/django_comment_client/management/commands/show_permissions.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..3f99bbaca0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lms/djangoapps/django_comment_client/management/commands/show_permissions.py
@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+from django.core.management.base import BaseCommand, CommandError
+from django_comment_client.models import Permission, Role
+from django.contrib.auth.models import User
+
+
+class Command(BaseCommand):
+    args = 'user'
+    help = "Show a user's roles and permissions"
+
+    def handle(self, *args, **options):
+        if len(args) != 1:
+            raise CommandError("The number of arguments does not match. ")
+        try:
+            if '@' in args[0]:
+                user = User.objects.get(email=args[0])
+            else:
+                user = User.objects.get(username=args[0])
+        except User.DoesNotExist:
+            print "User %s does not exist. " % args[0]
+            print "Available users: "
+            print User.objects.all()
+            return
+
+        roles = user.roles.all()
+        print "%s has %d roles:" % (user, len(roles))
+        for role in roles:
+            print "\t%s" % role
+
+        for role in roles:
+            print "%s has permissions: " % role
+            print role.permissions.all()
diff --git a/lms/djangoapps/django_comment_client/migrations/0001_initial.py b/lms/djangoapps/django_comment_client/migrations/0001_initial.py
index 826cbdae35..4993984d74 100644
--- a/lms/djangoapps/django_comment_client/migrations/0001_initial.py
+++ b/lms/djangoapps/django_comment_client/migrations/0001_initial.py
@@ -10,7 +10,9 @@ class Migration(SchemaMigration):
     def forwards(self, orm):
         # Adding model 'Role'
         db.create_table('django_comment_client_role', (
-            ('name', self.gf('django.db.models.fields.CharField')(max_length=30, primary_key=True)),
+            ('id', self.gf('django.db.models.fields.AutoField')(primary_key=True)),
+            ('name', self.gf('django.db.models.fields.CharField')(max_length=30)),
+            ('course_id', self.gf('django.db.models.fields.CharField')(db_index=True, max_length=255, blank=True)),
         ))
         db.send_create_signal('django_comment_client', ['Role'])
 
@@ -28,14 +30,6 @@ class Migration(SchemaMigration):
         ))
         db.send_create_signal('django_comment_client', ['Permission'])
 
-        # Adding M2M table for field users on 'Permission'
-        db.create_table('django_comment_client_permission_users', (
-            ('id', models.AutoField(verbose_name='ID', primary_key=True, auto_created=True)),
-            ('permission', models.ForeignKey(orm['django_comment_client.permission'], null=False)),
-            ('user', models.ForeignKey(orm['auth.user'], null=False))
-        ))
-        db.create_unique('django_comment_client_permission_users', ['permission_id', 'user_id'])
-
         # Adding M2M table for field roles on 'Permission'
         db.create_table('django_comment_client_permission_roles', (
             ('id', models.AutoField(verbose_name='ID', primary_key=True, auto_created=True)),
@@ -55,9 +49,6 @@ class Migration(SchemaMigration):
         # Deleting model 'Permission'
         db.delete_table('django_comment_client_permission')
 
-        # Removing M2M table for field users on 'Permission'
-        db.delete_table('django_comment_client_permission_users')
-
         # Removing M2M table for field roles on 'Permission'
         db.delete_table('django_comment_client_permission_roles')
 
@@ -127,12 +118,13 @@ class Migration(SchemaMigration):
         'django_comment_client.permission': {
             'Meta': {'object_name': 'Permission'},
             'name': ('django.db.models.fields.CharField', [], {'max_length': '30', 'primary_key': 'True'}),
-            'roles': ('django.db.models.fields.related.ManyToManyField', [], {'related_name': "'permissions'", 'symmetrical': 'False', 'to': "orm['django_comment_client.Role']"}),
-            'users': ('django.db.models.fields.related.ManyToManyField', [], {'related_name': "'permissions'", 'symmetrical': 'False', 'to': "orm['auth.User']"})
+            'roles': ('django.db.models.fields.related.ManyToManyField', [], {'related_name': "'permissions'", 'symmetrical': 'False', 'to': "orm['django_comment_client.Role']"})
         },
         'django_comment_client.role': {
             'Meta': {'object_name': 'Role'},
-            'name': ('django.db.models.fields.CharField', [], {'max_length': '30', 'primary_key': 'True'}),
+            'course_id': ('django.db.models.fields.CharField', [], {'db_index': 'True', 'max_length': '255', 'blank': 'True'}),
+            'id': ('django.db.models.fields.AutoField', [], {'primary_key': 'True'}),
+            'name': ('django.db.models.fields.CharField', [], {'max_length': '30'}),
             'users': ('django.db.models.fields.related.ManyToManyField', [], {'related_name': "'roles'", 'symmetrical': 'False', 'to': "orm['auth.User']"})
         }
     }
diff --git a/lms/djangoapps/django_comment_client/models.py b/lms/djangoapps/django_comment_client/models.py
index 22794677fa..06bf8c0d6b 100644
--- a/lms/djangoapps/django_comment_client/models.py
+++ b/lms/djangoapps/django_comment_client/models.py
@@ -1,36 +1,33 @@
 from django.db import models
 from django.contrib.auth.models import User
+import logging
 
 
 class Role(models.Model):
-    name = models.CharField(max_length=30, null=False, blank=False, primary_key=True)
+    name = models.CharField(max_length=30, null=False, blank=False)
     users = models.ManyToManyField(User, related_name="roles")
+    course_id = models.CharField(max_length=255, blank=True, db_index=True)
 
     def __unicode__(self):
-        return self.name
-
-    @staticmethod
-    def register(name):
-        return Role.objects.get_or_create(name=name)[0]
-
-    def register_permissions(self, permissions):
-        for p in permissions:
-            if not self.permissions.filter(name=p):
-                self.permissions.add(Permission.register(p))
+        return self.name + " for " + (self.course_id if self.course_id else "all courses")
 
     def inherit_permissions(self, role):
-        self.register_permissions(map(lambda p: p.name, role.permissions.all()))
+        if role.course_id and role.course_id != self.course_id:
+            logging.warning("%s cannot inheret permissions from %s due to course_id inconsistency" % 
+                            (self, role))
+        for per in role.permissions.all():
+            self.add_permission(per)
+
+    def add_permission(self, permission):
+        self.permissions.add(Permission.objects.get_or_create(name=permission)[0])
+
+    def has_permission(self, permission):
+        return self.permissions.filter(name=permission).exists()
 
 
 class Permission(models.Model):
     name = models.CharField(max_length=30, null=False, blank=False, primary_key=True)
-    users = models.ManyToManyField(User, related_name="permissions")
     roles = models.ManyToManyField(Role, related_name="permissions")
 
     def __unicode__(self):
         return self.name
-
-    @staticmethod
-    def register(name):
-        return Permission.objects.get_or_create(name=name)[0]
-
diff --git a/lms/djangoapps/django_comment_client/permissions.py b/lms/djangoapps/django_comment_client/permissions.py
index 9beb2b8dae..eae67a8361 100644
--- a/lms/djangoapps/django_comment_client/permissions.py
+++ b/lms/djangoapps/django_comment_client/permissions.py
@@ -2,110 +2,98 @@ from .models import Role, Permission
 from django.contrib.auth.models import User
 from django.db.models.signals import post_save
 from django.dispatch import receiver
+from student.models import CourseEnrollment
+
 import logging
 
-def has_permission(user, p):
-    if not Permission.objects.filter(name=p).exists():
-        logging.warning("Permission %s was not registered. " % p)
-    if Permission.objects.filter(users=user, name=p).exists():
-        return True
-    if Permission.objects.filter(roles__in=user.roles.all(), name=p).exists():
-        return True
+
+@receiver(post_save, sender=CourseEnrollment)
+def assign_default_role(sender, instance, **kwargs):
+    if instance.user.is_staff:
+        role = Role.objects.get(course_id=instance.course_id, name="Moderator")
+    else:
+        role = Role.objects.get(course_id=instance.course_id, name="Student")
+
+    logging.info("assign_default_role: adding %s as %s" % (instance.user, role))
+    instance.user.roles.add(role)
+
+
+def has_permission(user, permission, course_id=None):
+    # if user.permissions.filter(name=permission).exists():
+    #     return True
+    for role in user.roles.filter(course_id=course_id):
+        if role.has_permission(permission):
+            return True
     return False
 
-def has_permissions(user, *args):
-    for p in args:
-        if not has_permission(user, p):
-            return False
-    return True
 
-def add_permission(instance, p):
-    permission = Permission.register(name=p)
-    if isinstance(instance, User) or isinstance(isinstance, Role):
-        instance.permissions.add(permission)
-    else:
-        raise TypeError("Permission can only be added to a role or user")
+CONDITIONS = ['is_open', 'is_author']
+def check_condition(user, condition, course_id, data):
+    def check_open(user, condition, course_id, data):
+        return not data['content']['closed']
+
+    def check_author(user, condition, course_id, data):
+        return data['content']['user_id'] == str(user.id)
+
+    handlers = {
+        'is_open'      : check_open,
+        'is_author'    : check_author,
+    }
+
+    return handlers[condition](user, condition, course_id, data)
 
 
-@receiver(post_save, sender=User)
-def assign_default_role(sender, instance, **kwargs):
-    # if kwargs.get("created", True):
-    role = moderator_role if instance.is_staff else student_role
-    logging.info("assign_default_role: adding %s as %s" % (instance, role))
-    instance.roles.add(role)
-
-
-def check_permissions(user, content, per):
+def check_conditions_permissions(user, permissions, course_id, **kwargs):
     """
     Accepts a list of permissions and proceed if any of the permission is valid.
-    Note that check_permissions("can_view", "can_edit") will proceed if the user has either
+    Note that ["can_view", "can_edit"] will proceed if the user has either
     "can_view" or "can_edit" permission. To use AND operator in between, wrap them in 
-    a list:
-        check_permissions(["can_view", "can_edit"])
-
-    Special conditions can be used like permissions, e.g. 
-        (["can_vote", "open"])  # where open is True if not content['closed']
+    a list. 
     """
-    permissions = filter(lambda x: len(x), list(per))
 
-    def test_permission(user, permission, operator="or"):
-        if isinstance(permission, basestring):
-            # import pdb; pdb.set_trace()
-            if permission == "":
-                return True
-            elif permission == "author":
-                return content["user_id"] == str(user.id)
-            elif permission == "open":
-                return not content["closed"]
-            return has_permission(user, permission)
-        elif isinstance(permission, list) and operator in ["and", "or"]:
-            results = [test_permission(user, x, operator="and") for x in permission]
+    def test(user, per, operator="or"):
+        if isinstance(per, basestring):
+            if per in CONDITIONS:
+                return check_condition(user, per, course_id, kwargs)
+            return has_permission(user, per, course_id=course_id)
+        elif isinstance(per, list) and operator in ["and", "or"]:
+            results = [test(user, x, operator="and") for x in per]
             if operator == "or":
                 return True in results
             elif operator == "and":
                 return not False in results
 
-    return test_permission(user, permissions, operator="or")
+    return test(user, permissions, operator="or")
 
 
 VIEW_PERMISSIONS = {
-    'update_thread'     :       ('edit_content', ['update_thread', 'open', 'author']),
-    'create_comment'    :       (["create_comment", "open"]),
-    'delete_thread'     :       ('delete_thread'),
-    'update_comment'    :       ('edit_content', ['update_comment', 'open', 'author']),
-    'endorse_comment'   :       ('endorse_comment'),
-    'openclose_thread'  :       ('openclose_thread'),
-    'create_sub_comment':       (['create_sub_comment', 'open']),
-    'delete_comment'    :       ('delete_comment'),
-    'vote_for_comment'  :       (['vote', 'open']),
-    'undo_vote_for_comment':    (['unvote', 'open']),
-    'vote_for_thread'   :       (['vote', 'open']),
-    'undo_vote_for_thread':     (['unvote', 'open']),
-    'follow_thread'     :       ('follow_thread'),
-    'follow_commentable':       ('follow_commentable'),
-    'follow_user'       :       ('follow_user'),
-    'unfollow_thread'   :       ('unfollow_thread'),
-    'unfollow_commentable':     ('unfollow_commentable'),
-    'unfollow_user'     :       ('unfollow_user'),
-    'create_thread'     :       ('create_thread'),
+    'update_thread'     :       ['edit_content', ['update_thread', 'is_open', 'author']],
+    # 'create_comment'    :       [["create_comment", "is_open"]],
+    'create_comment'    :       ["create_comment"],
+    'delete_thread'     :       ['delete_thread'],
+    'update_comment'    :       ['edit_content', ['update_comment', 'is_open', 'author']],
+    'endorse_comment'   :       ['endorse_comment'],
+    'openclose_thread'  :       ['openclose_thread'],
+    'create_sub_comment':       [['create_sub_comment', 'is_open']],
+    'delete_comment'    :       ['delete_comment'],
+    'vote_for_comment'  :       [['vote', 'is_open']],
+    'undo_vote_for_comment':    [['unvote', 'is_open']],
+    'vote_for_thread'   :       [['vote', 'is_open']],
+    'undo_vote_for_thread':     [['unvote', 'is_open']],
+    'follow_thread'     :       ['follow_thread'],
+    'follow_commentable':       ['follow_commentable'], 
+    'follow_user'       :       ['follow_user'],
+    'unfollow_thread'   :       ['unfollow_thread'],
+    'unfollow_commentable':     ['unfollow_commentable'],
+    'unfollow_user'     :       ['unfollow_user'],
+    'create_thread'     :       ['create_thread'],
 }
 
-def check_permissions_by_view(user, content, name):
+
+def check_permissions_by_view(user, course_id, content, name):
+    # import pdb; pdb.set_trace()
     try:
         p = VIEW_PERMISSIONS[name]
     except KeyError:
         logging.warning("Permission for view named %s does not exist in permissions.py" % name)
-    permissions = list((p, ) if isinstance(p, basestring) else p)
-    return check_permissions(user, content, permissions)
-
-
-moderator_role = Role.register("Moderator")
-student_role = Role.register("Student")
-
-moderator_role.register_permissions(["edit_content", "delete_thread", "openclose_thread",
-                                    "endorse_comment", "delete_comment"])
-student_role.register_permissions(["vote", "update_thread", "follow_thread", "unfollow_thread",
-                                   "update_comment", "create_sub_comment", "unvote" , "create_thread",
-                                   "follow_commentable", "unfollow_commentable", "create_comment", ])
-
-moderator_role.inherit_permissions(student_role)
\ No newline at end of file
+    return check_conditions_permissions(user, p, course_id, content=content)
diff --git a/lms/templates/discussion/_thread.html b/lms/templates/discussion/_thread.html
index eb2d4f3468..c22e41eaad 100644
--- a/lms/templates/discussion/_thread.html
+++ b/lms/templates/discussion/_thread.html
@@ -89,9 +89,6 @@
     ${render_link("discussion-link discussion-reply discussion-reply-" + type, "Reply")}
     ${render_link("discussion-link discussion-edit", "Edit")}
 
-    % if type == 'thread':
-      <a class="discussion-link discussion-permanent-link" href="${reverse('django_comment_client.forum.views.single_thread', kwargs={'discussion_id':discussion_id, 'thread_id':content['id'], 'course_id':course_id})}">Permanent Link</a>
-    % endif
     <span class="discussion-endorse-control">
       % if content.get('endorsed', False):
         <input type="checkbox" checked="checked" class="discussion-link discussion-endorse" id="discussion-endorse-${content['id']}" />