PHPBB

[Zofo]

I need to set a forums up within the website I built for a non profit nurses association my wife is in.  basically they want a place to swap resources, chat about stuff relevant to their industry etc...

My problem is I went & checked out the installation details for PHPBB & there was a lot I didn't understand, I would imagine i would pick it up quite quick but initially for installing I really don't have a clue

I was wondering if anyone would anyone be interested in helping me with this.  I could obviously pay but as i mentioned above they are a non profit organisation so it possibly wouldn't be too much (rates could be discussed). I am doing the website for free obviously but I wouldn't expect anyone to give me any serious help for free so...


I will be setting up the hosting in a week or 2 for this, atm the website is just on my local machine




/edit - 1 more thing, is PHPBB a good option? i was looking at vBulliten but its expensive

[Humbug]

/edit - 1 more thing, is PHPBB a good option? i was looking at vBulliten but its expensive

Why not use what we use for this site.. SMF.  imho it's far easier to add/alter stuff than in PHPBB.

anyways, as long as you rent webspace that includes php version 5 with mySQL database which  pretty much everywhere has this unless your just renting space to store stuff then you'll be alright.  would be good if you could list a few of the hosting companies you have in mind so they can be looked at to see what package would be best.  Also, don't forget a domain name... you'll need one of those .  A few of places include a .co.uk for free as long as you stay with um.

when you got all that sorted it's just a case of downloading the relevant forum software to your pc.. unzip it, upload it to your website space, then running the installation of the forum software and going through the setup options which are very simple.(e.g. in the browser  www.nursescorner.co.uk/install/install.php)

gimme a shout if you need anything mate

[Humbug]

lol.. fyi  www.nursescorner.co.uk is available

[frymaster]

stay away from vbulletin... apparently the support is dire (they've banned some paying customers from the support system, for instance, which means they've been unable to download updates), also you have to pay for it

If you aren't planning on customising the forums any further than look&feel stuff, either phpbb or smf is good (though smf has a better rep for security)

whichever you go for, I strongly reccommend setting it up yourself, as you'll save trouble down the line when you realise you need to know something about the setup

[Humbug]

actually..  it appears SMF have a few issues in the management to do with licensing and who owns what or something..dunno

[Zofo]

oh wow...all really good advice, I would prefer to set it up myself for the very reasons you listed fry, just when I looked into the PHPBB install there was a load of stuff about altering code and well it frightened me a little

We have the domain name sorted, the hosting also, just need to check if they support the requirements for forums but I would imagine they do

I choose phpbb because I know shag all about this, smf is easier you say, I shall look into it tonight


Again thanks so much for the help, I feel more comfortable knowing I can hit some of you knowledgeable folk with a few questions when I need to, cheers