Forum installation

Hello there everyone. I'm in a bit of a bother. At the start of January, I bought my new domain name and the website is beginning to come together. However, I wish to include a forum on site. No. I really really really need a forum on the site. So, as I've read some of Yaro's (fantastic) articles, I decided to take his advice and go for phpbb as my forum software. Upon downloading it, though, and briefly looking at the installation guidelines, I've become a little lost, a bit bewildered and generally put off installing the forum onto my site, as it seems too bl**dy hard! It's now past mid-March and I'm still put off, but I really want that forum. Any ideas?

Hire someone to do it.

That software is very easy to install IF you have done it a few times and are familiar with php, so it shouldn't cost much. I would be leary of anyone who thinks it will take more than an hour to install.

Of course, customizing it (if you want it customized) is anyone's guess.

[Yaro]

Go to the phpbb forum support forum and ask for someone to assist you with the installation. Generally php software is easy enough to install once you get your head around servers, permissions and mysql databases. It's a good learning experience too.

Or maybe someone reading this knows phpbb really well and may help you out?

[Chris H]

Does your host/webspace include cpanel and fantastico?

All the hosting I sell has phpbb as a simple installation from fantastico.

wow didn't expect 3 quick replies! Erm, in all honesty, I don't want to pay someone to do it. The forum would be a welcome addition to the website, I would love to have 1 and see if it generates extra revenue, but wouldn't be prepared to pay for the priviledge! Too stingy!

I think I'll take Yaro's advice and delve into it a bit more, getting someone on phpbb to help me along the way hopefully.

As for cpanel / fantastico, I'm not really sure what you mean. I have a control panel, and this does in fact include very basic forum software. It wouldn't prove as intuitive as phpbb, though, although it could be a good starting point. It's more of a guestbook style forum though - no new threads can be made unless I physically create a new forum.

The host I am on is www.1and1.co.uk.

Thanks for all your help guys, really appreciate it.

[Aitch]

Hi wbafcben.

Originally posted by wbafcben+Mar 19 2006, 07:32 PM-->

No one really wants to spend more than they have to, but from personal experience it’s worth forking out a few bucks from time to time in order to save time, and especially if your want to apply new something in an attempt to generate a bit of cash.

Who knows how much you could be losing by not implementing you idea(s)?

The money you invest could pay for itself in either the long or short tem depending on what it is and if it works.

<!--QuoteBegin-wbafcben@Mar 19 2006, 07:32 PM
Wouldn't be prepared to pay for the privilege! Too stingy!

It's not a case of being stingy cus as a budding net entrepreneur you sometimes have to invest money to make money.

I'd try for some fee assistance to begin with but if none is offered and you still really want your forum but are stuck on technicalities, where are your options?

Hey, just think, you could have your forum in less than 60 minutes if you really want it!

Good luck.

Aitch

If you don't want to pay then you may want to consider bartering with someone. If you don't have a way to barter then you could hit the phpbb forums for advice on where you get stuck through the install process as Yaro suggested. Just be aware that you will only be able to go to that well a couple of times so I would recommend that you do not ask the most basic questions. Since you don't have the funds for it, then it is worth putting the time into figuring it out.

One more thing: be sure to google your question before you ask a forum. That could get you the answer you are seeking without having to burn your initial street credit on a forum.

Good luck!

[Yaro]

Good point Matt. Your "favor bank" at forums starts off very close to empty and if you ask questions that have already been answered elsewhere you will not likely get a response.

I'd definitely put 100% effort into installing it yourself because the skills you learn will help so much in the future if you keep working online. Way back in 1999 I installed a trial version of a very young vbulletin board which was one of the first lessons I had with installing complex software.

I've had so many fist-pump moments from finally getting a piece of software to do what I want it to do. It really is worth the effort.

Hey thanks for all your suggestions, guys. I think from time to time, in my spare time, I'll make the effort to get to know the phpbb software a little more. I've also asked this question on a favourite English forum of mine, and have since found out that my hosting would, in fact, not be able to handle the software code, as it does not support MySQL databases.

Luckily, through a bit of research, I've found cheaper hosting elsewhere and am currently weighing up the pros and cons of various providers.

It's an interesting point too that you've talked about 'forum favors (favours)'. Whilst it's nice to know people are willing to help each other for free (as you guys have shown), it's also a matter of principal to try to help each other in return, so I'm sure I'll stop around and help out here for at least a little while. I'll also take on board what you, vstorm, said too, about 'googling' questions first.

Thanks very much guys, appreciate the advice. Oh, by the way, if you would like to look, the website is www.gsworld.co.uk