Forum Software

[Jess]

which type of forum software do you prefer? keep vBulletin out because it's not free. it's good but it's not free

I like Zetaboards...you can put in a lot of codes and modifications to improve your forum

phpBB is all right but you need to pay to have mods installed AND to edit styles while Zetaboards you can create your own themes..for free.

~move if necessary :S

[Commander Thor]

phpBB is all right but you need to pay to have mods installed AND to edit styles while Zetaboards you can create your own themes..for free.

I'm sorry, what?
phpBB is completely free, including mods & themes.
Everything available here: http://www.phpbb.com/customise/db/?sid=a49baa1b0debcaca4ca5ca74d92107a8
is absolutely free of charge, installing them costs nothing.
There's even a mod installer so you don't have to edit the files manually.
phpBB is my board of choice.
Other fine boards are myBB, and SMF (Simple Machines Forum).

[nick]

My forum is running phpBB and like Brandon said its all free. I have all of the features we have here on vt including photo galleries, integrated chat, shoutbox, rep system and also a games arcade. None of this software has cost me a penny and I installed all the mods myself.

I also experimented with MyBB which is easy to set up and maintain and also free. I couldnt impose a minimum age on there though or compel new members to give their date of birth which was one of the main reasons that I stayed with phpbb.

[Donkey]

My favourites are vBulletin, XenForo and IPB - drat, they're all paid!

My favourite free solution from both an admin and user perspective would definitely be MyBB.

[Jess]

I'm sorry, what?
phpBB is completely free, including mods & themes.
Everything available here: http://www.phpbb.com/customise/db/?sid=a49baa1b0debcaca4ca5ca74d92107a8
is absolutely free of charge, installing them costs nothing.
There's even a mod installer so you don't have to edit the files manually.
phpBB is my board of choice.
Other fine boards are myBB, and SMF (Simple Machines Forum).
No not all mods are free...you need to have a premium forum. and that costs money

[nick]

No not all mods are free...you need to have a premium forum. and that costs money
Jess that's not true. Dont confuse freeforums with phpbb. Whatever software you pick you are likely to have to pay someone to host it. That's a fairly small annual charge, but the forum software and mods for phpbb are free. Freeforums works the otherway round, they host (badly) your site for free but charge for everything else.

[Jess]

oh okay...but how do I install the mods? I've always thought that you need a premium forum or...advanced hosting...to install any mod you want...

-_-

edit: oh I just realized I'm not using phpBB but freeforums. *headdesk*

I have to DOWNLOAD phpBB? I always have trouble with that. what do I do after I download it? am I supposed to convert a forum to phpBB? >_<

[nick]

I took the advanced hosting upgrade, which effectively transfers your site from freeforums.org to hostgator who are just a web hosting company. After that you're on your own and freeforums have nothing more to do with your site.

freeforums obviously have some kind of deal with hostgator. They wont give you an export of the database to convert to anyother host or forum software. They perform the transfer across to hostgator for you but you lose most of the mods and have to redo them yourself. They will install a package of mods for you at a price. Once you are on hostgator if you want to convert to a different forum software like MyBB its fairly easy to do so.

[Jess]

so I need some web hosting account to download phpBB...

I feel stupid :/

[nick]

so I need some web hosting account to download phpBB...

I feel stupid :/
To make the forum visible and accessible on the internet you need a web host and a domain name.

You can download phpBB for trial purposes on your own PC and set up a working forum but nobody else would be able to access it. To make that work you would need to have mysql, php and apache all running on your machine. The easiest way to do that is to install a bundle like Xamp which is excellent.

[Jess]

well I installed Xampp

now for a web host. do you have any suggestions of any good, free ones? :S

so pretty much on the web host you upload the files or whatever? I need more explanations x_X

[Commander Thor]

well I installed Xampp

now for a web host. do you have any suggestions of any good, free ones? :S

so pretty much on the web host you upload the files or whatever? I need more explanations x_X

x10hosting provides free, unmetered hosting, for whatever you want to use it for. (Unmetered as in, they don't track how much disk space you're using, and they don't track how much bandwidth you're using.)
Simply create an account: http://x10hosting.com/
Wait for it to be /actually/ created.
Then you can login to cPanel, and install phpBB from there.
There are numerous support tools and help sections on both phpBB's site, and x10's site if you get stuck along the way.

[Jess]

thanks ^_^

edit: still having trouble...I download it at File Manager? and what file do I choose?

I'm gonna read x10's and phpBB's support now...-_-



edit: do I install the files in a database ? and what files do I choose? I STILL need help v.v

[Donkey]

Lol you upload the phpBB files that come in the phpBB package (obviously unzipped) and run the install script and instructed with the documentation. Put in the MySQL info you created/is provided by the host and it will add the tables as required to the database.

[Jess]

well...I'm doing that...I think..using Filezilla and then I have to figure out what to do next.

wait I'm using it to transfer the files. nvm. now I'm even more clueless.

If this gets even more confusing I'm giving up -_-


EDIT: I got it. got everything now. only problem is I can't get to my ACP, shows a general error. I've told the support team at phpBB and the host. I hope it goes away soon -_-

[Commander Thor]

What's the exact error code you get?

[Jess]

sometimes I can get in, then all of the sudden I can't. it's really annoying

General Error

SQL ERROR [ mysql4 ]

Lost connection to MySQL server during query [2013]

SQL

SELECT COUNT(attach_id) AS total_orphan FROM phpbb_attachments WHERE is_orphan = 1 AND filetime < 1293110275

BACKTRACE

FILE: includes/db/mysql.php
LINE: 175
CALL: dbal->sql_error()

FILE: includes/acp/acp_main.php
LINE: 490
CALL: dbal_mysql->sql_query()

FILE: includes/functions_module.php
LINE: 507
CALL: acp_main->main()

FILE: adm/index.php
LINE: 74
CALL: p_master->load_active()

[Commander Thor]

I thought that was your post I saw on x10's forums. :p

Do you happen to know what server you're on? (If you don't, it will be listed on the left hand side when you login to CPanel)

[Jess]

It's ...


starka

edit: and it won't let me join the forums at x10, it thinks I'm a spammer -_-

[Commander Thor]

It's ...


starka

edit: and it won't let me join the forums at x10, it thinks I'm a spammer -_-

Odd, I'm on Starka as well, not having issues with mySQL at the moment.... And I'm not seeing anyone else having any issues with Starka as well.
Perhaps you should try re-installing your board, something must have gone wrong. (Most likely in the mySQL setup process)

And you should already be a member of the x10 forums..... When you sign up for a free hosting account, a forum account is automatically created.
Another thing I should note, is you need to sign into the forums there at least once a month, otherwise they'll suspend your account for inactivity. You don't need to post there, you just need to remember to sign in.

[Jess]

if I re install it...I will lose everything won't I?

[Commander Thor]

That is correct, any posts made, any mods installed, any themes added, will be gone. (You /can/ make a backup of the SQL database, so you don't lose posts/users if the re-install doesn't fix it.)

[Jess]

okay, where and how do I make a backup and can you explain a bit how to re-install...-_-

[Commander Thor]

To create a backup of the database, if you can get into the phpBB AdminCP, you can click on the "Maintenance" tab, then click on "Backup" under "Database". Under the list of stuff, click "Select all", then click on the radio button "Download". After that, hit "Submit", and within a few seconds, a download of the database should start.
If you can't get into the phpBB AdminCP, login to cPanel, then click on phpMyAdmin. From there, click on "Export" along the top, then click on the database name along the left hand side under "Export" (Or click the "Select all" button). From there, scroll down, and hit the "Go" button. From there, a download should start.
After that, instead of deleting the forum, I'd rename the folder you have it in (So if you have it in public_html/forum/, rename it to public_html/forum_bak/ or something similar.
Then, in cPanel, click on "File Manager", then click on the "public_html" folder. After that, click on the "Upload" button, then select your phpbb.zip compressed folder that you got off the phpBB.com website. Let it upload, then go back and select the phpbb.zip folder that uploaded, then click on the "Extract" button, hit "Extract file(s)" and let it run it's magic.
Once that's done, head back into cPanel, then click on "MySQL (r) Databases". Then type a new name for your database (Such as "forum"), then hit the "Create database" button. Then down under "Add new user" type a username (Like "admin"), then a password for the user, and click "Create user". After that, click on "Add user *_admin" to database "*_forum", and hit "Add".

Then the install process for phpBB should be pretty simple, and self-explanatory. Navigate to http://www.yourdomain.com/forum/install/, and follow the instructions it gives you.
If it installs properly, and works flawlessly, then it was most likely an issue with the SQL database itself, in that case, it would be damn near impossible (Well, not so much, but it's hard as hell) to get any posts back without screwing up the new database.