How do I create a online bulletin board?

I am currently a basic programer when it comes to web desgin. The company I work for has given me this task to build a site with almost like a jobs wanted section, like what you guys have here. A place where people can post there information and then people can acquire there services. I thought what is already being used with a message board is a good idea. I was wondering if people knew any other programs or code, preferably free to maybe allow people to post there information that way people can get go on to a web page and accesss the information, something simple. If anyone has any ideas I will take it. Thanks.

 

there are severl BBS's that you can use that are free

PHPbb
YABB
EZBoard

all free.

 

http://www.phpbb.com/ is a great one that's totally free. I actually use nomonthlyfees.com as my host service.. and if you host with them, installing the bulletin board is as simple as going to your control panel and naming the path where you want it installed.. then voila... completey customizable. It works great.. requires email confirmation to register and everything. Of course, you can install it on any server.. just might have to do a bit more reading.. Good luck!

 

Re: Best online bulletin board software?

I found a similar post under the 'Software' forum so Im not sure of the best place to post the question/s below, but this thread seems to be an appropriate place to post with.

Am looking at a bulletin board package called 'Discus' by Discusware ( http://www.discusware.com , has both free and pay-for versions).

I see by this thread and the one at the Software forum that the following packages are 'recommended': PHPbb, YABB, EZBoard , Vbulletin, and Invision.

So, I have a list (that I havent yet checked out to see if they are all still in business, another good selection criteria)...

Discus
PHPbb
YABB
EZBoard
Vbulletin
Invision

Does anyone have any comments/suggestions about the best package based on ease of installation/reliability (intermediate to novice geek), security (email verification sounds good), price (around $200 max), use (spellcheck and preview sound good), etc?

Also, where would be a place to find good design criteria for bulletin board setup and operational requirements?

I would like to use the board as a place for folks to ask questions about home remodeling and other building construction questions (advanced geek in those areas).

 

Re: Best online bulletin board software?

You're on a VBulletin system right now.. so if it you like how it functions on the client side, then you might want to check into it. It is quite an intricate piece of software and as such allows you to pretty much tweak anything you really need. With that,though, comes a danger because you can really screw things up design wise. I'd say it's not the easiest solution for design purposes but it installs 1.2.3. www.vbulletin.com

 

Re: Best online bulletin board software?

Kodo, thanks much for the info.
Interesting that you mention that this BB is powered by VBulletin.
I was just trying to figure out what the 'Close Current Tag' and 'Close All Tags' in the reply composer window meant and so tried to find a 'test forum' for newbie posters and/or 'help' files for this BB system, but couldnt find either.
So, are board 'help' files not a good BB software selection criteria?
It appears that MajorGeeks didnt think so... unless Im missing something.
Thoughts?
akm

 

Re: Best online bulletin board software?

the Vbb software uses custom tags to represent HTML tags. If you use a tag and forget to close it with and end tag then you can use "close tag" or "close all tags" to make sure that the custom tags are properly formatted.

 

Re: Best online bulletin board software?

Kodo, so I guess what your saying is that it is an html editing tool and I could 'try-it' and not do much harm with my post since I would be able to preview it.

What about the various BB programs on the list from a comparison (or any) standpoint...

Discus
PHPbb
YABB
EZBoard
Vbulletin
Invision

...or, would you (or any other reviewer) add to the list and do you know anything about 'Discusware'?

Where would be another place to get this kind of feedback?

Is there any other 'pure' BB-program discussion forums?

Thanks again.
akm

 

Re: Best online bulletin board software?

it's far from an html editing tool. it's a complete templated software item.
I can only suggest you visit their site (www.vbulletin.com) and read about it there. It's much more comprehensive than the information I am providiing.

 

Re: Best online bulletin board software?

Will do.
Also, if you think of any ideas re my other questions (in my previous post) about sources of BB-program info etc, please let me know.
Thanks again.
akm