I've tackled a few website creation projects, but never a forum. Where do I start and what are the best software packages to look into? I'm looking for simple, expandable, and easy to deal with. Thanks!
Look for vbulletin if you want paid forum script. For free forum scripts, there are three. smf, phpbb3, mybb. I suggest you first decide on the features you need on your forum and search for the availability of mods. SMF has a lot of mods and is secure one but they have only few good looking themes. phpbb3 has a lot of themes available but doesn't have lot of features. Mybb is somewhat simpler than the above two. If you are looking for a basic forum any free forum scripts can be used. If you need any help, please feel free to ask. I have worked with all these forum scripts.