Start up a forum

[blueball]

I found PhpBB a bit finicky and went for SMF which was an absolute doddle to setup and use in comparison.

[nasorpc]

@ saracen - couple of hundred maybe?

@ b0redom - but she would have to leave her pc on all the time, won't she?

[jim]

@ b0redom - but she would have to leave her pc on all the time, won't she?

Did you even google Amazon EC2/VPC?

[scaryjim]

@ saracen - couple of hundred maybe?

A couple of hundred how often?

£200 a year will get you a basic VPS, which would be suitable for hosting this and other websites but would need to be maintained by someone who at least vaguely knows their way around a server...

[father smurf]

Vanilla is quite a good no-frills forum system - and they also have an option to host a board on their site as well ... worth checking into.

[[GSV]Trig]

wordpress is more for blogging. I think phpbb might be ok. Can anyone recommend:-

1. Any other forum software?
2. ISP/Hosting site?

More for blogging perhaps but it's easy to use and configure..
www.cavalier-turbo.com

[nasorpc]

thanks gsv mate. I'm going to have to show it to her and see what she thinks.

May i just add that i appreciate all your help, thanks!

[pp05]

hi guys,

a friend has asked me how she can start a forum. The honest answer is that i don't know. She wants to start some sort of a parent forum, for anyone with kids to discuss. Since a lot of forum names have already been taken, how do you go about:-

1. Setting up a forum?
2. Getting one which like hexus, starts with "forums.xxxxx" rather than "xxxxxforum"
3. How do you build a community?

Thanks for your help

I think she should have a look around for an existing one to see if one meets her needs.

If she wants a zero upfront cost consider maybe starting a group on facebook and build from there.
Or yahoo groups, this leaves her to put up content.

It also depends on her level of skill.

Forums at the moment are struggling in general due to facebook. That may/ may not change.

I think they are more hassle than it's worth unless it is very niche theme.