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
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
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.
Community Website Books wedgewenis, Some excellent books on web communities that I have read and recommend (the link will direct you to Amazon): Community Building on the Web : Secret Strategies for Successful Online Communities Design for Community: The Art of Connecting Real People in Virtual Places Jonathan www.badders.com
i have read "Design for communities ... " and also the below book. good reading with insightful topics. Hosting Web Communities: Building Relationships, Increasing Customer Loyalty, and Maintaining A Competitive Edge
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
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.