thanks for the suggestion. i tried parts of that previously without luck. i ended up using this:
Code:
<if condition="in_array($bbuserinfo['usergroupid'], array(5,6,7))">
<tr><td class="vbmenu_option"><a href="usernote.php?$session[sessionurl]u=$post[userid]"><phrase 1="$post[username]">$vbphrase[user_notes_for_x]</phrase></a></td></tr>
</if>
it suits our purposes because only moderators (and above) can view/edit/add/etc...usernotes.