Setting up IP.Board

[YoMamma]

Hey,

 

I was wondering how I would go about setting up message boards just like this one that GC uses for a small organization I work for. Do I need someone to host them (ie: paying a server monthly?) or is this something I can do for free?

[ZeroDamage]

You want to pay for some kind of hosting. Hostgator or Dreamhost is a good place to start for something small.

 

IPBoard is not free though so you would have to pay for it. I used to set up SMF (simplemachines.org) for local business a few years back, charged a small (but profit) fee to them as well as a fee for the forum setup depending on what they wanted. There are others out there though that may work for you. Wordpress even has their own Forum software now.

[ZeroDamage]

http://www.bbpress.org

 

Check out the plugins for additional functionality.

[ilovetomatoes]

phpbb is a good open-source, free alternative as well for the forum software. http://www.phpbb.com/

[YoMamma]

Thanks for the help so far! Free is better

[ZeroDamage]

phpbb is a good open-source, free alternative as well for the forum software. http://www.phpbb.com/

 

Best to avoid for business use IMO. It is highly prone to attacks and hacks. It may not be as bad as it used to be but still bad enough that I would avoid it for anything other than gaming use.

[Windex]

yeah i used to use PHPBB a lot for various forums/groups and they all eventually got hacked/spammed with porn bots and all kinds of other stuff..

[Flitterkill]

Agreed. phpbb is fine if you are going to be watching it like a hawk otherwise drop some dime on IPB or vBulletin. If it is only some forums for a handful of people you can get some seriously cheap hosting for 5 a month or sometimes super small stuff for 25 a year. Your big expense will be the forum software.