another big commit :D

app/models/role.rb

@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+class Role < ActiveRecord::Base
+  include Comparable
+  has_many :users
+  attr_accessible :name, :value
+
+  def to_s
+    self.name
+  end
+
+  def to_i
+    self.value
+  end
+
+  def is? (name)
+    !!(Role.find_by_name(name) == self)
+  end
+
+  def self.get (name)
+    Role.find_by_name(name)
+  end
+
+  def <=> (role)
+    if role.is_a?(Role)
+      self.value - role.value
+    elsif role.is_a?(Symbol)
+      self <=> Role.find_by_name(role)
+    else
+      raise "Cannot compare Role with #{role.class}"
+    end
+  end
+
+  def self.all_until (role)
+    Role.all.select do |r|
+      r <= role
+    end
+  end
+
+end