function user_ingroup($username,$group,$recursive=NULL){
        if ($username==NULL){ return (false); }
        if ($group==NULL){ return (false); }
        if (!$this->_bind){ return (false); }
        if ($recursive==NULL){ $recursive=$this->_recursive_groups; } //use the default option if they haven't set it
        
        //get a list of the groups
        $groups=$this->user_groups($username,array($this->_group_attribute),$recursive);
        
        //return true if the specified group is in the group list
        if (in_array($group,$groups)){ return (true); }

        return (false);
    }