Online forum wanted - must be free!

[spionfox]

I want to set up an online forum for work. It will only have about 30 members and needs to be private insofar as I don't want any casual access to it - invitation only type of thing.

Currently trying out myfastforum.org which seems all right but is there anything better out there?

Thanks.

 

[fcukcov]

Have a word with Jeff.

There is a private section to this forum for the Cardiff Wife Swappers Association. he may do the same for you? He can only say no!

 

[Siouxsie]

I'm a member of 3 different ones (all football related) hosted by Conforums.com. They've all been ok for the 6 years I've been on them. I've no idea if they are the best.

 

[Matt_B]

If you want full forum software then you have phpBB which is open source but you will need hosting, or there is vBulletin (which this site is based on I believe) but that isn't free.

No idea on the free hosted solutions mentioned previously, for what you mention I imagine they would all suffice.

 

[Mike - True Blue Tinter]

I need a forum as well. It does not need to as sophisticated as this but I do need to stop spammers joining if possible and I must be able to moderate post before they are put up. Other than that I want is as simple as possible. Any suggestions?

 

[SJN-Fox]

Are you hosting it on an internal server?

I have used http://forum.snitz.com/ for internal forums at my last place of work.

 

[FIF]

invision

I'm pretty sure that they are free, can be passworded, or only for registered members. I've found them to be easy to use and reliable.

 

[spionfox]

There is a private section to this forum for the Cardiff Wife Swappers Association. he may do the same for you? He can only say no!

Great, now I know that one already exists it negates the need for me to have my own

 

[spionfox]

Conforums.com.

phpBB or there is vBulletin

http://forum.snitz.com/

invision

Thanks all - gonna do some research based on the above now!

 

[Jeff]

What exactly do you want to do with the forum?

Do you want to host it on an internal network?
If so, what kind of platform will you be using - Windows/Linux etc, PHP, MySQL etc.

Do you want to host it on an external server - if so, same questions as above.
Do you want to use your own domain name with it?

If you want to use one of the free hosted forums, are you willing to put up with lots of ads and have not much control over it?

 

[spionfox]

What exactly do you want to do with the forum

It's for use as a 'feedback' forum. Members can make comments on things and others can answer. We have a paper based system at the moment but that relies on someone sending copies onto others. Online would be more immediate and guaranteed to be seen by all who log in.

Do you want to host it on an internal network? Do you want to host it on an external server

My site is hosted with 1and1 and they have forum software but the last time I looked it wasn't very user friendly at all.

If you want to use one of the free hosted forums, are you willing to put up with lots of ads and have not much control over it?

The adverts would have to be accepted if it was free, I would still want control over the forum though. Or did you mean no control over the advert content? Might be fun to get pornographic adverts open up in the MD's face!

 

[Jeff]

The adverts would have to be accepted if it was free, I would still want control over the forum though. Or did you mean no control over the advert content? Might be fun to get pornographic adverts open up in the MD's face!

I wasn't talking about having control over the ads, but the forum in general. If it's hosted by one of the free forum hosting places they could shut it down, go bust, lose the database etc, and you'll lose everything that's been posted.
It depends how important the data is to you whether you're prepared to take that risk.
If you do go with a free solution like that make sure it's one that's been around for a long time and has a good record.

If I was in your situation I would use something like PHPBB and host it with a cheap hosting company. I would then have complete control over it and could take regular backups etc.

 

[spionfox]

If I was in your situation I would use something like PHPBB and host it with a cheap hosting company. I would then have complete control over it and could take regular backups etc.

Thanks for the advice Jeff. Really.

 

[Macky]

My site is hosted with 1and1 and they have forum software but the last time I looked it wasn't very user friendly at all.

If I was in your situation I would use something like PHPBB and host it with a cheap hosting company. I would then have complete control over it and could take regular backups etc.

Surely the best solution would be to install something like PHPBB on your space at 1&1?

 

[Jeff]

Surely the best solution would be to install something like PHPBB on your space at 1&1?

Only if his 1and1 hosting has PHP and MySQL, some of their cheaper packages don't.

 

[spionfox]

Surely the best solution would be to install something like PHPBB on your space at 1&1?

Only if his 1and1 hosting has PHP and MySQL, some of their cheaper packages don't.

And assuming he knows how to do that as well of course :icon_lol:

 

[TommyK]

I run my running club website which is hosted by 1and1. (which we'll be changing soon as i've found a cheaper provider.)

I use ecoboard. Its free and allows for a bit of customisation if you want it. You can't get rid of the advents though.

You can see the forum here if you want to see an example: http://s3.excoboard.com/exco/index.php?boardid=11213