New to forums setup - need a little help!

[sticker]

Hey all,

I want to setup a forum for a martial arts club I'm involved with. I've absoutely no experience with forums -

Which is the most novice friendly?

Any good tutorials out there for setting up forums?

Is there much involved with managing one? (the club is small so shouldn't be a lot of traffic!)

Thanks in advance!

 

[Powerboat.ie]

Hi there !

I have a few forums up and running now over the last few years.

I'm not a "techie" but I have learned a lot through experience.

Have a look at the sites in my signature block. All of them were quite simple to set up.

My advice would be to buy a domain name for your self at some where like www.blacknight.ie and then buy a copy of V Bulletin www.vbulletin.com Forum software. You then need someone to place the software on your domain name. I can reccomend the folks at www.blueberry.ie who doo all of my tech work. The forums themselves are very easy to manage through a fairly logical and intuitive control panel.

There will be other issues such as promoting and seeding the forums to get them up and running but that's another days work !!

Pm me at any stage for a mobile and you can give me a call for a chat.

Kind regards,

Stuart

 

[sticker]

Hi Stuart,

Thanks for your very informative and prompt reply. I'll look into those ideas and get in touch if I hit a wall!

Much appreiated

 

[mneylon]

Stuart

How did you "seed" your forums?

Michele

 

[musicformedia]

Hi there !

You then need someone to place the software on your domain name. I can reccomend the folks at www.blueberry.ie who doo all of my tech work.

I don't understand why you need to pay someone just to install Vbulletin on your domain...its really really easy...

You could also try a free one like phpbb - have a look at my site:

www.filmandgamecomposers.com

If you buy a domain and hosting with blacknight it makes it even easier - you click on a button that says "Install phpbb" and you have a forum setup within about 10 seconds. Then you can change all the themes, the look of it, the subforums etc...its really really easy - I wouldn't advise you to pay for someone to install it for you to be honest - I knew nothing about that kind of thing and I was able to do it easily enough on the first go

 

[Powerboat.ie]

Easy If you know how !

I have often found an "assumption" on this forum that everyone is a web developer.

If you look at the forums on www.powerboat.ie , while all of the layout, ads etc etc was done by me (a non techie) but I wouldn't have a clue how to download and install the software or how to upload the title banner.

I've been lucky enough especially in my early days to have received help and practical assistance from some friendly folks (including the webmaster here !).

Up to my eyes at the mo but I'll come back in the next day or so with my thoughts on "seeding" and growing forums. I'm not an expert by any means, but more than willing to share my experiences good and bad.

Kind regards,

Stuart

 

[musicformedia]

If you look at the forums on www.powerboat.ie , while all of the layout, ads etc etc was done by me (a non techie) but I wouldn't have a clue how to download and install the software or how to upload the title banner.

Thats what forums like this are for - to ask questions such as how to download and install the software for forums, or how to upload the title banner.

A simple google search of "how to install vbulletin" brings up loads of guides aswell...

All I'm saying is, spend the money on getting someone else to do it if you really want, but you never going to learn unless you try and do it yourself. Plus it feels more like you've achieved something when you've done it yourself

 

[Powerboat.ie]

I thnk that the €50 to have it done professionally was money very well spent !!!

But I did actually get stuck into learning about the control panel for V bulletin.

Quite daunting at first but actually as I've already said, intuitive and easy to learn once you get stuck in.

Stuart

 

[Cormac]

I strongly recommend not buying any forum software for your forum, including Vbulletin. Can you justify paying $100 per annum on a forum which you yourself claim that there won't be much traffic? $100 doesn't seem like much but it might be for your society.

I recommend taking a look at the free ones such as Vanilla, PHPBB and BBPress, if your forum gets popular and you require more features than the free ones can provide you with, then upgrade and get something like Vbulletin.

I have used Vbulletin before for a couple of years and it's total overkill if your forum has a small membership. I couldn't justify VB for a forum with less than 300 members for example.

I have used PHPBB, Vanilla and BBPress and BBPress is by far the most user friendly and easy to use forum. It's developed by the same guys from Wordpress.

If you have any questions about setting it up then fire me off a PM or IM.

 

[Powerboat.ie]

As Cormac says, it depends on your budget.

VBulletin is just a one off charge of about 130 euro.

There are no recurring charges.

I'd consider it a far superior product (in fact in a different league)to those mentioned by Cormac

Stuart

 

[Busarus]

I would wholeheartedly recommend VBB - I have been using it for years, having transferred to it from UBB a long time ago. (Aside is UBB even still going?)

 

[Dotwebs]

I wouldn't have a clue how to download and install the software or how to upload the title banner.

Doesn't phpBB pre-installed on some web hosting packages? Then all you have to do is use a wizard to set it up - it's really easy if it's done via hsphere (hosting control panel).

 

[mneylon]

phpbb - terrible security track record, though they seem to have improved things a lot with the v3 release

Vbulletin - wonderful software. One off purchase fee, but you need to pay an annual license to get the latest version

Vanilla - very simple and easy to use.

 

[Cormac]

Powerboat (if that is your real name, I somehow doubt it!),
You should check the T&C's on their order page: https://www.vbulletin.com/order/

Either way a repayment is requirement, whether it be for an annual fee or for eventual maintenance.

 

[mneylon]

Powerboat (if that is your real name, I somehow doubt it!),
You should check the T&C's on their order page: https://www.vbulletin.com/order/

Either way a repayment is requirement, whether it be for an annual fee or for eventual maintenance.

It's not a requirement. If you don't pay the annual license renewal fee your existing license will remain valid but you simply won't be able to access the member area downloads to get the latest version

 

[Powerboat.ie]

Powerboat (if that is your real name, I somehow doubt it!),

Hi Cormac,

Sorry if my use of a "Username" annoys you ?

Powerboat is a "Username" which is a quite acceptable way of naming your self on forums such as this. Even the mod owner of these forums uses a nom de plume "Blacknight" Even I know that that was not what he was named at birth !!

If you look at my earlier posts in this thread, you will see that I freely Identify and sign myself off in posts as Stuart. If you look at my signature, you will see some of the sites that I own (full bio available) which give a "clue" to why I might have picked Powerboat as a username.

Anyway, back to the subject of this thread....

You should check the T&C's on their order page: https://www.vbulletin.com/order/

Either way a repayment is requirement, whether it be for an annual fee or for eventual maintenance.

I do check the T and C s Cormac..... every time I buy a VB license.

V Bulletin as Blacknight has also said, is a one off purchase cost of euro 144. Trust me too on this. I have bought and therefore own 6 or 7 licenses, with the latest bought just yesterday.

You can also lease a license annually for about euro 80 per anum There is an optional small annual (US$ 40 - 60) fee to receive up grades, but there is absolutely no need to buy this at all.

All of my sites are generating funds so I can afford the optional upgrade package but I would suggest that to pay for an upgrade every 3 years would be quite suffcient to keep your forums tip top! Most VB forums never upgrade from the original and are still flying along without any problems whatso ever many years after purchase.

Like I said, I am more than willing to share my experience of building forums wth anyone here and would likewise be delighted to learn from others !

Kind regards,

Stuart

 

[mneylon]

Most VB forums never upgrade from the original and are still flying along without any problems whatso ever many years after purchase.

Stuart

You'd have to apply security upgrades from time to time, as there have been security holes found in Vbulletin from time to time

Michele

 

[shaneod]

Has anyone used BBpress much? From the makers of wordpress, apparently you can integrate the two systems to run a blog - forum with integrated users etc. Might be worth a look for a very simple forum.

 

[Dotwebs]

Haven't use BBPress but it looks like the business! Alternatively here's a plugin forum for WordPress: http://simplepressforum.com/

I haven't tried it myself yet but know someone who is. I'll post feedback on it here.