DECENT INTERNET FORUM PROVIDERS
Discussion
LOVE:PETROL said:
Hello im looking to get a hosted forum up and running but want an ad free one, with the possiblity of adding my own ads to it.
does anyone know of any decent providers which gives me full control of it
im pretty new to this forum idea so any help would be great
thanks
Check my profile (or the banners in here if you press F5 enough!)does anyone know of any decent providers which gives me full control of it
im pretty new to this forum idea so any help would be great
thanks
Recommended by 82 PH'rs and rising!
VDS Pro comes with phpBB2 preinstalled, full control, Lightning fast UK Servers, no banners and a PH Sponsor!
J
LOVE:PETROL said:
with this phpbb thing, is it add free and are you able to add adverts like pistonheads do above and also on the forum content?
i have noticed aswell that it has the phpbb logo in the top left corner is that able to overwritten with my own logo?
sorry if this doesnt make sense.
thanks
Sure.. you have access to the complete code for it..i have noticed aswell that it has the phpbb logo in the top left corner is that able to overwritten with my own logo?
sorry if this doesnt make sense.
thanks
You can change the logo..
Add banners / sponsorship
Change the colours
restrict access to certain forums to certain people
hide certain forums.
Hell, make a dancing elephant parade across the screen if you so wish
Stu R said:
R1 (jamie's crowd) come very highly recommended on here 
We work VERY hard to ensure it stays that way Keep the customers happy, and they'll keep you in customers
Stu R said:
phpBB is decent, but keep it upto date and use the easily available spam lists to keep them at bay.
VBB is fantastic if you don't mind paying for a forum
VBB is infinitely better than phpBB (not that phpBB is bad, it's still very good) but VBB does cost a few hundred $VBB is fantastic if you don't mind paying for a forum
Vbb is what you'd look to migrating too, once you have a busy, established phpBB forum!
J
only if the phpBB to Vbb migration tool is infinately better than it used to be! 
I agree though, phpBB is very powerful and a great piece of forumware considering it's free. Used it a few times and was amazed how powerful and tailorable it was. Only downside is once the spam started getting through there was little we could do to stop it, short of jumping over to VBB (which we did).
I agree though, phpBB is very powerful and a great piece of forumware considering it's free. Used it a few times and was amazed how powerful and tailorable it was. Only downside is once the spam started getting through there was little we could do to stop it, short of jumping over to VBB (which we did).
Stu R said:
only if the phpBB to Vbb migration tool is infinately better than it used to be!
I agree though, phpBB is very powerful and a great piece of forumware considering it's free. Used it a few times and was amazed how powerful and tailorable it was. Only downside is once the spam started getting through there was little we could do to stop it, short of jumping over to VBB (which we did).
Implementing CAPTCHA on the signup stages is about the best way... doesnt stop a real user signing up and then spamming.. but a properly implemented CAPTCHA system will weed out 99% of the spamming bots.I agree though, phpBB is very powerful and a great piece of forumware considering it's free. Used it a few times and was amazed how powerful and tailorable it was. Only downside is once the spam started getting through there was little we could do to stop it, short of jumping over to VBB (which we did).
JamieBeeston said:
LOVE:PETROL said:
with this phpbb thing, is it add free and are you able to add adverts like pistonheads do above and also on the forum content?
i have noticed aswell that it has the phpbb logo in the top left corner is that able to overwritten with my own logo?
sorry if this doesnt make sense.
thanks
Sure.. you have access to the complete code for it..i have noticed aswell that it has the phpbb logo in the top left corner is that able to overwritten with my own logo?
sorry if this doesnt make sense.
thanks
You can change the logo..
Add banners / sponsorship
Change the colours
restrict access to certain forums to certain people
hide certain forums.
Hell, make a dancing elephant parade across the screen if you so wish
Nevertheless, it's not a straightforward thing internally. If you're new to the idea of forums, it might be a bit much to reverse engineer the thing and put it back together with the included dancing elephant.
Both php and phpBB have been a pleasant surprise. I mus also say that I've found php to be much more "useable" than asp.net . I thought .NET was a mistake from an application programming perspective, and I'm sure it's a mistake from an internet perspective, but I'm sure many will disagree.
I probably ought to say that I was pretty reluctant to take on either asp or php, and I'm still sure that niether is going to get my CMS!!!
timskipper said:
phpBB is dire IMO. Full of security holes and you *will* get spammed to death with fake registrations eventually.
vBulletin for the win! It's only £48/year inc. updates for the licenced version or £91 to own outright + approx £15/year for updates.
Tim.
Strange, dont seem to suffer that on any of the hundreds of phpBB2 sites we host..vBulletin for the win! It's only £48/year inc. updates for the licenced version or £91 to own outright + approx £15/year for updates.
Tim.
Security seems fine so long as you keep up-to-date, and as mentioned, decent CAPTCHA will all but kill spam.
Won't disagree that VBB is better though, but it is $$$ for someone just starting out with a toy venture.
timskipper said:
JamieBeeston said:
decent CAPTCHA will all but kill spam.
Not in my experience, but you can't argue with free! as you say .. free does what you pay it for JamieBeeston said:
timskipper said:
JamieBeeston said:
decent CAPTCHA will all but kill spam.
Not in my experience, but you can't argue with free! as you say .. free does what you pay it for What might you mean by that?
Are you saying that people ignore the CONTENT_LENGTH variable?
Edited by dilbert on Thursday 10th January 12:49
I use VB and it still needs to be kept updated which, after LOTS of hacks becomes a massive chore and one that I hate even thinking about. We seem to get hundreds of bots signing up but they never post - so they're not getting passed the self cert. I've used PhpBB lots before and I have a soft spot for it but it did seem to be a magnet for spam. A sturdy forum with active users and mods (people you must trust) can stay on top of it all.
To the OP, I can't work out if you want a 'free' forum as in hosted for free too - in which case there will be some sort of ad involved / ad-supported.. otherwise you want to find a cheap host with control panel and auto install.
To the OP, I can't work out if you want a 'free' forum as in hosted for free too - in which case there will be some sort of ad involved / ad-supported.. otherwise you want to find a cheap host with control panel and auto install.
Hey there is there anyone that offers vbulletin and hosting together or do they have to be purchased seperately?
Is it best to buy the license from vbulletin or just "lease" it?
Also with vbulletin can you add adverts to the forum index page like pistonheads do? and also within the topics?
Thanks for your help...
C
N.B does vbulletin track site visitors?
Is it best to buy the license from vbulletin or just "lease" it?
Also with vbulletin can you add adverts to the forum index page like pistonheads do? and also within the topics?
Thanks for your help...
C
N.B does vbulletin track site visitors?
Edited by MOOOO.co.uk on Monday 28th January 22:53
MOOOO.co.uk said:
Hey there is there anyone that offers vbulletin and hosting together or do they have to be purchased seperately?
Is it best to buy the license from vbulletin or just "lease" it?
Also with vbulletin can you add adverts to the forum index page like pistonheads do? and also within the topics?
Thanks for your help...
C
N.B does vbulletin track site visitors?
You need to buy VBB seperately, you can then stick it on virtually any hosting account.Is it best to buy the license from vbulletin or just "lease" it?
Also with vbulletin can you add adverts to the forum index page like pistonheads do? and also within the topics?
Thanks for your help...
C
N.B does vbulletin track site visitors?
Edited by MOOOO.co.uk on Monday 28th January 22:53
it works a treat on the Register1 accounts
J
MOOOO.co.uk said:
Thanks Jamie...
Ok...what about ipboard as no has mentioned these before...are they any good does it have a good control panel and what are the comparison between the two?
Charrz
TBH, VBB is the best, but it costs...Ok...what about ipboard as no has mentioned these before...are they any good does it have a good control panel and what are the comparison between the two?
Charrz
we offer PHPBB2, this is a well respected and (ab)used product.. vital to keep it up to date, but works very well for free!
MOOOO.co.uk said:
Thanks Jamie...
Ok...what about ipboard as no has mentioned these before...are they any good does it have a good control panel and what are the comparison between the two?
Charrz
I've used PHPBB and VBB on many occasions now, amongst others, and they're definately the two at the top of their game so to speak. Ok...what about ipboard as no has mentioned these before...are they any good does it have a good control panel and what are the comparison between the two?
Charrz
VBB is a breeze to use, really nice piece of software which makes it all very easy, it's very flexible and has no problems with high numbers of users really. Very easy to customise and tinker with and it has a pretty good team behind it with regards to tech issues, updates and so on.
PHPBB is pretty much the same story, but it's free. VBB blows it out the water really, but if you're just wanting a small forum which can easily be customised it's definately worth looking at, massive amount of support from the community too, as well as loads of skins, themes and layouts. As mentioned it really is essential to keep it upto date, and you really need to keep ontop of the security from day 1 to make it harder for the spammers.
There's lists available from all over the place of addresses and so on that you should have in the blocked list, this will help a lot but not completely, and make sure you're using the best verification for new users you can.
I've not migrated a forum from phpbb to VBB for a long time, last time I did however was a nightmare, so unless the migration tool has suddenly become very good, I'd consider how long you envisage the forum being active for, how successful it's likely to be and how scaleable you require it to be.
If you're expecting high numbers you're probably best off going for VBB from the start in my opinion if you're already debating whether to or not now, as it could potential save you a massive ballache for a small(ish) outlay.
I've always bought the all singing all dancing one as opposed to licences, but I've not yet had much benefit from it so I'd say either will probably do.
There's loads of forum software out there, it's a bit of a minefield in all honest but the two mentioned here are both very useful as Jamie has said, with a large community supporting the development and maintenance side of things it's hard to get really stuck these days.
Best of luck with whatever you decide.
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