I don't know where the hell to put this, so it's here. I'm not looking for a free forum. I'm interested in starting a free forum site that will allow users to instantly make a forum (phpBB or ibp) and use a sub-domain on one of my domains. How easy is this to do and where would I start? Move this topic if there's a more appropriate place, thanks.
In addition to the free hosting script (the one above is probably the best out there), you'll need VPS Hosting. Free Forum scripts can be very resourceful and chances are if you try running one on a shared hosting account you'll be suspended in no time. To install the script itself on a host, very easy. To re-style the script to blend it into a website, not so easy. To actually manage the forum host, hard. You have to be professional, committed both mentally and financially and always be willing to install new mods, styles, custom / unique features etc... not to mention the hassle of a phpBB upgrade. It's also worth mentioning they're not financially rewarding either. Whilst you can make money from placed Ads, account upgrades and database backups your revenue won't exceed running costs for at least a few months, maybe a few years. Plus, consider the competition...hosts such as FreeForums and Forumotion have completely customised Admin Panels whilst you'll still be offering the standard, so you'll have to think of something unique to draw new forum owners in. Remember, there are hundreds of free forum hosts out there - why? because they're incredibly easy to set up...even the average Joe who can install a script can become their own forum host. Be prepared to pay for Advertising, because without it - you'll struggle. Good luck.
Before starting on this project, definitely get your strategy in place. A lot of forums can take a lot of bandwidth on the server side and you're going to have to be able to finance this. Free forum providers are always wildly popular, but each one has a financing strategy in place, whether it's compulsory advertising or up selling to premium plans.
Thanks for the replies! I'm on a semi-dedicated server and I'm not doing it to make money. I run a couple gaming community sites and some people showed some interest in having forums on my domain. I'll look into that first site posted.
There's Mihalism Multi Forum Host -> http://code.google.com/p/mihalismmh/downloads/list I got the link from the creator's forum. Unfortunately the main website for the multi forum host script is down so as for the features / requirements...I guess you'll have to download and install it...then have a gander around. However, I once tried out a Search Engine script made by the same person and honestly, it was pretty decent. At the end of the day it's free so there's not a lot to lose.