setting up a BB

[MDS]

My ? is what is all involved in setting up a Bulletin board? I'm new to the idea but a friend of my brought up the idea of a local bb for the town I live in. What would I need all to set one up and what software prefer freeware for starters. I have a box that could be used as a server but don't even have an OS on it right now as I did a fresh format. It is a XP2000+ with a gig of pc2100 ram and a 120gig wd hd which will be hooked to cable internet. I'm not for sure I'm going to do this yet but trying to get an idea of what to look for.

[Roadkill]

What a scream! My wife and I were talking about the same thing!
So far, the only thing we found out was our cable internet provider doesn't allow it, we would have to set up with the local DSL, or go with an online server, like rackmount or something. We haven't gone much further with the idea.


Here is a discussion on software:

http://www.xtremepccentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=4308

[Mntsnow]

It's actually pretty fun MDS :) I would be more than happy to help set you up. as for hosting there is a ton of options out there for not much cash if you dont have a lot of traffic and need lots of bandwidth. (its the bandwidth that gets expensive!)

[MDS]

I will prob. run win2kpro on this box unless XP pro would be better. So if I went with the Snitz forums I would need to instal IIS and MySql or the like plus the Snitz software? What would be the best host setup?

[brandon]

I highly reccomend Invision Power Board (http://www.invisionboard.com/), even over Snitz. Nicer interface, and control panel.

That'll work with any setup that supports PHP and mySQL. PHP is easily installed on any Windows system, and if you were to sign up for hosting - I'd probably guarantee that it'd already be installed. Installing the mySQL DB service on a Windows machine may be a little trickier. Or, maybe it won't - I'm probably just a rube who doesn't always follow instructions properly. ;)

I noticed that a user in the other thread said that "Invision isn't exactly free." .. Well, they're incorrect. Here are their licensing policies;

http://www.invisionboard.com/download.cgi

Full License - $ 99.00 one time fee
This license option grants you the right to remove all of the powered by and copyright messages the Invision Power Board software outputs on your pages. You may not however, remove the copyright notices in the script files themselves.

Restricted License - $ 0.00 (free)
The restrictions placed on this license do not permit you to remove the copyright and powered by messages which the software outputs on your page. However, you can use Invision Power Board for free under this option.

Hope this helps. If you have any configuration issues, feel free to ask. As far as I can recall, this script has a pretty simple installation process.

- Brandon

[Mntsnow]

if your thinking of hosting it your self and want to have more than about 5 people on the site at any one given time you will need to use a "server" version of 2K. the Pro versions only allow 10 concurrent connections and atleast 2 connections are used per person average....

Invision is a nice board. I had recommended Snitz in the other thread as when used on a 2K server you have everything you already need and thus it really becomes a no brainer to setup and run.

but if you do want to have a full fledged site then I would suggest going with one of the php/mysql based boards. *edit* Yes Invision is now PHP based...

[brandon]

Isn't Invision PHP based?

- Brandon

[Mntsnow]

Corrected....I hadnt checked Invisions site for quite awhile and it looks like they are php based...

[MDS]

Ok I dl Invisions and about host I have a ?. After checking my ISP's site I can not have a server running or use my webspace for a server so what kind of hosting is avalible that is low $ ? I don't want to put much into this right now as I want to learn about getting it setup first and see how things go before I let anyone know about it.

[Mntsnow]

Mike,

You might check out http://www.top10webhosting.com/ There is a bunch of good ones listed

[MDS]

iPowerweb looks like a good choice. I will have to give it some thought

[fosin]

Many of the Hosts I've seen had an option in the control panel to install a forum. Apparently it automatically installs it for you (haven't use it though). Maybe something to look into when choosing a host, unless you want to learn how to do it yourself. Here's one that uses phpBB with linux http://www.100megswebhosting.com/services.html They have pretty good support.

[edit] looks like Invision has their own hosting and will set the forum up for you. Nice...I'll have to remember that.

[MDS]

I will have to get with my friend to see how much he plans to chip in. I could run a server if I upped to the next step higher with my ISP but $90 a month is kinda steep for me.It is what they call there "One-Meg Biz" with static IP which is a step down from there T-1 which would be really to high $. Right now I'm on one meg res for $35 a month

[brandon]

As far as $90 a month is concerned - you could spend $10 more and get a server with Linux, 400GB of multihomed bandwidth.

http://www.rackshack.net/ -- Fully proprietary, but the machines do tend to be reliable and the connection out of their NOC is excellent. These are unmanaged, though... So they wouldn't hold your hand too much.

If you're looking for shared hosting, which is probably a little more ecomonical and little more up your alley - I suggest these companies:

http://www.onefusion.com/ - I've heard excellent things about the level of support here, and nothing negative about the service itself.

http://www.tera-byte.com/ - I've had client accounts here before, overall uptime was excellent.

http://www.hostrocket.com/ - Haven't had accounts here, but they are definately popular among the hosting community.

There are a TON of companies out there. If you're thinking of one that isn't listed here, feel free to PM or email me and ask me if I've heard of it.

To be brutally honest with you, I'm not entirely comfortable "reccomending" any shared host. They all have their pluses and minuses, and the GREAT majority have their odd issue. Not to indicate that going with a shared host is necessarily a bad idea, but if this is a mission-critical website, I highly suggest a VPS (virtual private server) or a dedicated server account.

The above comment about control panels that allow you to install forums was correct. I've seen control panels (namely cPanel) which will allow you to simply hit a button and it will install the forum for you.

~ Brandon

// edit // -- fixed terabyte link.

[Mntsnow]

Mike depending on how much traffic you expect I could probably host it for you for a nominal charge until your sure it is going to take off at which time you would just move it to another hosting company.

PM me if you want to discuss this option

[MDS]

I still haven't been able to get ahold of the friend that had the idea first. Mntsnow I'll let you know when I get ahold of him. There should be much traffic as this town is hard to get anyone on a website or BB. I don't know if I would be just waisting my time or not. I will give it a bit more thought.

[smokin]

Cable is a hassle for hosting a site. I still use cable, but got ADSL as well so I could run my own server..they apparently don't care until the bandwidth gets up there...as for Mikes offer..that is pretty generous
:)

other options are in regard to the board..I installed phpBB2

http://www.phpbb.com/

and it was simple..and free
:)

[Mntsnow]

MDS...I made it easy for you and others to check out a few of them...Set this up last night for you..Check it out www.mntsnow.com and from there on the frontpage is links to bare installs of Invision, PhpBB, Vbulletin and Snitz(maxwebportal).

Enjoy!

[MDS]

Cool I think I like the invison one the best. I like the layout and several options. And Mntsnow YGPM