Running a Forum

Hi

I just wanted to know anyone experiences of running a forum, is it hard to do, does it take much time and which is the easiest forum software to use?

I have been looking at the software tools below.

1) IP Board
2) php BB
3) MyBB
4) SMF Forums
5) FluxBB

I just want a very easy user-friendly forum which won't take up too much time and also prevents spammers.

Can anyone help?

Thanks

 

I'm a fan of PHPbb there is a site PHPbb hacks that contains a number of free mods, as well as templates to customize the look of PHPbb forums.

 

Well if u are ready to pay for a software use vbulletin thats the one this forum uses..But IPB isnt bad after all too.. IPB is easy to use too

 

I run a forum, using MyBB.

Let me tell you, it is not easy! You need to out compete others and some time is needed updating content etc.

The first 100 active members are hard to get, after that it becomes easier.

First try on a free board that you know can be moved to a paid one.

 

There are a lot of forums, so it might be difficult to find potential forumers - but if you advertise, have the right niche and get people in to comment, post and be active, then it shouldn't be a problem

 

I should try phpbb because there is possible to forget about the forum soon. It's hard to get members so you can buy vbulletin in case your forum is growing. Vbulletin is the most loved forum.

 

Forums are a great resource for people online, but they are hard to get them started. They take money, time, and a community that is readily interested in talking about the subject. The topic needs to be large enough that an entire forum can be based around it, but specific enough that readers want to come to your forum instead of somewhere else. I would go with a free forum until you can figure out whether its going to work. I would see how its going after 3-4 months and then if its growing and healthy (readers are actually posting) then think about better software.

 

The best forum software is vbulletin, hands down.

If you wanna do serious business with your forum, thats the way to go.

 

phpbb is free and easy to use
also look here for others as well as demo them
http://php.opensourcecms.com/scripts/show.php?catid=5&cat=Forums

 

My main concern is that it must be very easy to use and very easy to change the look and design of it, I don't want nothing complex.

Anyone use MyBB?

Thanks

 

http://forums.digitalpoint.com/showpost.php?p=12786896&postcount=4

 

I have been using SMF from the past 1 year. Trust me, it is the most easiest and smoothest forum script i have ever found so far. You can take my word. If you need any help with it, i can help you through aswell.

 

phpBB is nice depending on what skills you have you can make it as good as paid forum software easily with some tweaks. I think Gaia online uses phpBB and managed to turn it into one of the most used sites online.

 

Mybb for the win, I have tried a lot of forums and MyBB towers over all! www.MyBBCentral.com is the site I use (btw its not my site, I am just a fan of the owner )

 

If you are looking for a free alternative, I've always liked SMF. However, I do recommend you go straight for vBulletin. The arrival of 4.0 should make things great.

I've had a number of forums over the last few years and yes it takes quite a lot of time to get them up and running and popular. It's not particularly hard to do but you do have to have a pretty innovative mind in order to keep things interesting and constantly developing for the better. This article might help you.
http://newspier.com/how-to-build-a-online-community/

 

This is the forum that serves best from my experience,i can say, i have no tool for the forum.but it doesn't take much time.

 

well the best software to run a forum is vbuletin and then wbb if you are looking for a free one go for wbblite

 

I think nowadays to succeed with a forum you should come up with something new to motivate the people be a part of your community. I think a website or some tools / an entertaining thing (it depends on the niche) attached to the forum would be a successful formula and will ease your work.

 

It's not so hard to set up a new forum. I did it a month ago and have over 200 members already.
I like phpBB since it is easy to handle, userfriendly and for free.
I also like it's design.
Most hosting providers nowaday have a forum software in their packages.
I can recommend webhosting at Sitepanel. They have a so called C-Panel access which will automatically set up a phpBB forum for your website, if activated. It's quite easy to install and set up.

What is more difficult is to get your forum crowded.
You should open a few posts by asking questions and giving tips to certain topics. Stay with one or just a few topics at the beginning and when your forum grows you still can ad or split up some forums to make it bigger.

Advertise you forum and use some effective Traffic-Tactics, which you can learn at my own forum below.

Administrating a forum is quite time consuming and hard work.
You will have to battle fu..ing spammers almost every day.
But it is also good fun and a nice way to get to know new and interesting people from around the world. And of course it is a very good "platform" to share knowledge and to gain the same.

So I wish you success with your forum!

Nick Stone

 

The thing I did with my forum which really got things going was investing a little cash in a relevant software package. For three months or so I held a competition - every post that had proper content (not just a 'me too' comment) got entered into the contest - at the end of the month I used a random number generator to pick the winning comment - that person got the software package. It cost a little, but the forum populated like crazy! Up to over 1k members now and number 1 in google for the main keyword.