[Testament]

Hey, I just found this forum after trying to research on how to start up a forum site of my own. I hope I can make some good friends and find some good info here.

Basically,I would like to create a networking site that is a forum, and utilizes some interesting Profile options that I have seen on a few sites, like Ratings, PMs, etc...(IF possible, individual ad space on each user's post). One good example of this is "christianforums.com". I am not new to forums, in fact I am quite addicted to them, but only from a user perspective. I really want to learn all I can about running a forum site.

Here are some major questions:

Which forum hosts are customizable and will yield a result like christianforums?
Do I need major programming prowess to do this or will basic skills be adaquate?
What kind of hosting memory will one need for a 10,000 member community? 100,000 members?
Any other BASICS that I would need to know.

Sorry if this seems like a lot.... I am desperate to get one going because my idea is pretty good. A large market awaits this idea, and it would rival craigslist and myspace if done right. A creative way to use forums to connect people and network.

[Advertisements]

Well first you have to ask yourself if you are going to spend any money and if so how much.

If you want to start a professional forums site like this one then you need...

1) A domain name
2) Web Hosting
3) A forums software

1...
You can buy domain names all over the internet. The cheepest i have found are http://www.dynadot.com.

2...
Web hosting is usually expensive, companys take you for your money and sometimes you dont get your moneys worth. I am with centrica hosting and i bourght their special eBay package for unlimited space etc for only £5.95 / year!!!

3...
You will need some sort of forums software to upload to your website and use. You can get free ones like phpbb but they are not very good if you want to create a massive forum community. You need to spend a bit of money if you want a good one. Check out invision power board. This site is run on invision power board.

Also all forum boards come with the admin control panel which allowes you to make modorators, levels, ratings, user control panels, user managers, forum managers etc...

[Allsortgroup]

Well first you have to ask yourself if you are going to spend any money and if so how much.

If you want to start a professional forums site like this one then you need...

1) A domain name
2) Web Hosting
3) A forums software

1...
You can buy domain names all over the internet. The cheepest i have found are http://www.dynadot.com.

2...
Web hosting is usually expensive, companys take you for your money and sometimes you dont get your moneys worth. I am with centrica hosting and i bourght their special eBay package for unlimited space etc for only £5.95 / year!!!

3...
You will need some sort of forums software to upload to your website and use. You can get free ones like phpbb but they are not very good if you want to create a massive forum community. You need to spend a bit of money if you want a good one. Check out invision power board. This site is run on invision power board.

Also all forum boards come with the admin control panel which allowes you to make modorators, levels, ratings, user control panels, user managers, forum managers etc...

[tiroshii]

a good site i have found. its not as professional as this site but its a good way to get used to te feel of running a forum.it is forumup.com
you do not have to download any forum software its all online editing all you have to do is make an account and its FREE

its phpBB2, not as good as invision (what this forum uses) but its a good start.

Edited by voa, 25 June 2006 - 07:28 AM.

[The_Big_G]

here is a good free forum software http://www.yabbforum.com/

i have used it and moderated on it. you can set user levels and set restricted areas that users can post and get into. very good program

[tiroshii]

yeah thats phpbb, same as the one i said. same thing though.

you could always download the software that this forum uses and upload that to a url..

[lilhawk2892]

invisionfree is good because it allows full access to css and your own codes to do wutever your want.

but sadly vbulletin is the best although its 40 dollers..but you literally cant get any better this this is like its own website and everything im saving up for it

[tiroshii]

is that wat GTG uses? i like this the best

[Johanna]

Here are two forums I own:

www.prisonsupport.net (vBulletin)

www.leatherworker.net/forum/ (Invision Power Board)



GeekstoGo is an IPB, btw.



vBull is easy to use, and has the features people like in an easy to use style. The customer support is excellent. It is configurable to almost any webmaster/administrator need. IPB has more options available, and is also capable of handling a large busy board. The support assumes you know more than you do, however! Just for comparison, I'm in the US. I lauched my IPB board for less than $100 including the domain name registration, webhosting and software license. I bought a different license for vBull, but the total cost was less than $200.



GeekstoGo offers webhosting at a very reasonable price. I'm not saying that because I work here, I am a G2G webhost customer, and both my boards are hosted by G2G. I have received excellent support and web tools galore. (An account w/ G2G webhosting will come with a free phpbb board you may want to experiment on) phpbb is okay, but lacks many ordinary features without extensive modifications, some of which work, and some of which broke other things that used to work. I scrapped it in disgust because I have plans for the boards that will exceed phpbb's capabilities, like letting posters upload attachments, and setting up levels of access.



Hope this helps you- if you have any specific questions, I'll try to answer them for you.

Johanna

[lilhawk2892]

what she said^

but you can get a free invision powerboard from www.invisionfree.com

[Johanna]

I don't want ads I have no control over on my sites.
Johanna

[beav3r]

S14.invisionfree.com