Is function checkPermission($permission) valid to use?

[plb]

I was getting ready to write a function to check if the current user had a given permission level and I came across this function on line 419 of us_helpers.php:

Code:

//Does user have permission

Code:

//This is the old school UserSpice Permission System

Code:

function checkPermission($permission) {

Does this "old school" mean I shouldn't be using it?

Is there an explanation anywhere about the whole permissions system without going through the video as it is coded? I want to treat "permissions" as the concept of groups from linux, but i'm not sure if I'm OK going that route or not...