Creating a forum.

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Hi all...
I would like to create a simple private forum for a small group. Has anybody here had experience of setting one up and can anyone recommend a good starter one for an iMac.
Simplicity is an important requirement :|

Many thanks and hope this is the correct area for this post, apologies in advance if I am on the wrong board.
 

vansmith

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Many web hosts have tools to automatically install web applications including, but not limited to, forums. Who is your host? Do they offer such a feature?
 
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Thank you for your reply vansmith, ...... This is where my ignorance shows through as my knowledge of web hosts is about nil (or slightly less)..... I use safari and my ISP is British Telecom, that's about all I can tell you....
 

vansmith

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If you want to have an online forum, it needs to be hosted on a web server somewhere. There are a whole bunch of web hosting companies that will provide you with space on their server and a domain for a relatively low fee. There are also bound to be free hosts that will provide what you need but you'll likely lose some flexibility and/or you'll have to put up with ads on your forum. One free option is here (I've never actually tried this one so I have no idea what it's like).
 

pigoo3

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Thank you for your reply vansmith, ...... This is where my ignorance shows through as my knowledge of web hosts is about nil (or slightly less)..... I use safari and my ISP is British Telecom, that's about all I can tell you....

This is probably a topic a bit too complex to discuss solely on an internet forum...especially if someone has practically zero knowledge on this topic.

It's sort of like asking..."How do I do brain surgery on my dog?"...on an internet forum...and expecting to be able to do it after starting a few forum threads!;) Ok...maybe not quite that complex...but you get the idea.:)

I think that a great thing to do is do some internet searching on:

- "How to create an internet forum?"
- "Setting up an Internet Forum."
- "Internet Forums for Dummies."
- etc.

Read up on the topic. Then if there are specific areas that still seem confusing...then post those questions here...and we can address them one by one.:)

This is how I would approach things.:)

- Nick
 
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Vansmith and pigoo3 .... I really appreciate your advice over this and clearly it's more complicated than I imagined, I will look up the links you have provided and get myself educated in the art of creating a forum. Many thanks once again and I'll let you know how I get on. This really is a great group of people.
 
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Creating a forum via Yahoo Groups used to be easy, free and effective. Since Yahoo 'upgraded' to Neo it's been a complete mess, so don't be tempted to use Yahoo.
 
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Thanks Steve, I'll take your advice ...
 
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Is it really a forum you want or just a private place for group chats? If the latter you can setup a private room in Skype for chat and swapping pictures etc,, I've had one open for a couple years with about 40 people all with a grilling/ bbq interest and it's free. It's private as people will have to be added to see or comment in the room.
 
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The easiest and cheapest way to get your own forum is use a free forum such as click here or do a Google search for free forums. Using free forum software is what I personally would recommend before signing up for hosting, paying for a domain name and such to see if you even like having your own forums. If you like it after a while, then spend some money on it. But try it out 1st.
 
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Other than the excellent suggestions offered above, I would pitch in with some ordinary suggestions as well.
It is pretty easy to set up a forum with a good host. It is a simple process with a few clicks away from your host's control panel. Main issue would be to develop a community. That takes a lot of effort. After all it would be painful to see a forum where little activity takes places. Building a network of loyal, passionate members is a serious task.
I maintain servers for living (amongst other things) and I can tell you from experience - it is relatively a simple thing with machines and software. It is entirely a different ballgame when it comes to people.
 

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