Vote for Allow messaging only to Admin
https://community.wpmanageninja.com/fluentcommunity-roadmp/#/idea/1100/
The current messaging system allows anyone to message anyone once enabled. It would be great to have an option to restrict this so that members can only send direct messages to admins/moderators, not to each other. This would help prevent spam and keep member interactions in public spaces while still allowing private communication with leadership when needed.
Have a look at bettermessages also
John Waters I tested it out. Does not like the UI much.
Thushara Lakshan it does have permissions based on roles for initiation etc.
The ui can be modified obviously by css. The one thing I found lacking was a hot button back to the original space posts