Kwun please help me out!! :0

Discussion in 'Forum Feedback' started by wedgewenis, Jul 30, 2002.

  1. wedgewenis

    wedgewenis Regular Member

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    i found out why badminton Canada .. and the NSBA webmasters won't run forum boards

    they say that they are abused by people there.. ie. foul language, insults, bickering

    infact the Pres. of the NSBA specifically told the webmaster NOt to run a forum board


    they dont realize that a forum board is Supposed to be run by moderators

    they think u just set it up and it runs itself..



    My question is: how hard is it to setup and run a forum like this

    what software is needed ?
    is it free?

    etc etc.

    thanks
     
  2. Badders

    Badders Regular Member

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    The success of a forum depends on how it is managed and moderated. The software helps, the better the software the more comfortable people feel when using it.

    Forum's that have weak or no moderators will on the whole fail. There are bound to be incidents of 'abuse' or people not following the board guidelines. This is where the moderator steps in and help out. The key to a good forum is the tone set by the moderators and main users. If this is right then the general level of conversation will be good.

    If people get away with things then it is a sure fire way of encouraging others to do the same.

    Moderation is tough. Users who get thrown out come back under a different guise. Some users set up multiple ID's so that they can have a conversation with themselves to get their point across. There are many tricks you need to watch out for, but generally moderation is good fun.

    The best way to describe the role of a moderator is:

    "they welcome newcomers, introduce people to one another, clean up after the guests, invoke discussion and break up fights if necessary".

    Just like the real world :)

    On the subject of software. You can get free software, but normally it is better to pay a little so that you can have the functionality you require and rid yourself of any advertising that the vendor places on the software.

    All the best with your forums,

    Jonathan
    www.badders.com
     
  3. kwun

    kwun Administrator

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    wedge,

    to answer your question. the software i am using is vbulletin. cost is around US$140. an alternative is phpbb, which is free, you can look into that one. it is actually a pretty good software too.

    as for installing and using it, it will take some web expertise and perhaps some unix skills. it will NOT be easy like installing a software into windows, so beware of your technical skills level.

    and what Jonathan said is very true. you can go to the bookstore and look for some books on web community, the names of the book escapes me right now. but there are a couple of good ones out there.

    good luck.
     
  4. Badders

    Badders Regular Member

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  5. kwun

    kwun Administrator

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  6. wedgewenis

    wedgewenis Regular Member

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    yea when i told them about moderators and they didn't think anyone would want to do the job...

    i'm assuming moderating would involve having a password, loging in and then having certain options that the regular users dont have (to delete posts etc.)


    the nsba website is on Mpowered and they said they could not give the webmaster a cgi-bin (or sometnhign) too him unless he paid an additional fee

    even if these sites dont get a forumboard i'm goign to try to setup my own site w/one
     
  7. kwun

    kwun Administrator

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    wedge,

    both phpbb and vB uses a language call PHP. the webhost will need to have that language capability in their server software.

    it will be a good learning experience and opportunity if you haven't done this before. enjoy.
     

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