Website Help Please?

[juan pablo]

Hi all,

I have recently set up my own website for a company and am looking to insert a Private FORUM where people can register & log in and discuss various topics. Similar to Foot.Ie i suppose. can anyone recommend the best FREE forum for me??

[dahamsta]

phpBB (http://www.phpbb.com/), no question.

adam

[juan pablo]

Thanks Adam,

Have you an example website that phpbb has been used to see for myself. I am doing this for a company and want to get it right.

[dahamsta]

Have a look at their own community forum, or google the name.

[monutdfc]

Dahamsta, why did you propose phpBB when foot.ie uses vBulletin? I notice Politics.ie has switched to vBulletin (I lurk there very occasionally). I find phpBB very prone to spambots (no idea about vBulletin in this regard).
Interested in your opinions.

[dahamsta]

vB isn't free, which the OP requested. All popular software is prone to attack, unfortunately.

[monutdfc]

vB isn't free, which the OP requested.
Ah, I see...didn't know that

[paul_oshea]

yes and its expensive enough.

I'd go with adam generally anything php based that is opensource is trustworthy and pretty effective i.e. because its opensource everyone collaborates(or should) and adds to it, therefore it changes with the times!

would the company not be willing to pay for the forum?!

[juan pablo]

Ok guys, i seriously need all the help i can get, i downloaded that phpBB but now what?? i use Microsoft Frontpage to update my website but i just dont know what to do now?? Please anyone, all the help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

[dahamsta]

Does your web hosting support PHP? If you don't know, ask your web host.

In all honesty, if you don't know what to do at this point, you're not qualified to run interactive software, if only from a security standpoint. You should be talking to the people you're setting it up for about employing someone qualified to install and manage it.

adam

[paul_oshea]

if your host does support php, alternatively im thinking you want to keep the money for yourself and not pass on the income. IF this is the case, then what adam says is correct, however your host may be nice enough to install it for you. Im thinking you are just using simple html but most hosts these days have php server side support as standard, unless its something like google pages or geocities or something like that.

[dahamsta]

If you follow Paul's advice and install it yourself, you absolutely must subscribe to the Announce forum on the phpBB site and update the software as soon as new releases become available. If I had a penny for every effing time I've had to clean up someone's webspace on my servers because they haven't bothered their arse, I'd be a very rich man.

People don't seem to realise that it doesn't just affect their websites, but quite possibly the other sites on the server. A bad exploit could kill the whole machine, which leaves muggins-types like myself doing bare-metal reinstalls overnight. I have a wife and a life you know. :)

adam

[SkStu]

not much of a life though, is it? ;)

http://kecute.files.wordpress.com/2008/01/hamster-wheel-race.jpg

[dahamsta]

Gah, that wheel!