# are forums like the SDMB free?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-forums-like-the-sdmb-free/311203>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [July 5, 2005, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-forums-like-the-sdmb-free/311203 "2005-07-05T22:32:31Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![chefIL11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@chefIL11](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chefIL11)\
**Post date:** [July 5, 2005, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-forums-like-the-sdmb-free/311203/1 "2005-07-05T22:32:31Z")

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Is there a charge? Where can I go to get a forum or message board for my website?

Thanks!

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**Author:** ![Corii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/aeb1de/32.png) [@Corii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Corii)\
**Post date:** [July 5, 2005, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-forums-like-the-sdmb-free/311203/2 "2005-07-05T22:34:05Z")

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I know several people who use phpBB for their personal message boards. Info is here: [http://www.phpbb.com/](http://www.phpbb.com/)

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**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\
**Post date:** [July 5, 2005, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-forums-like-the-sdmb-free/311203/3 "2005-07-05T23:20:18Z")

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It depends on which specific software you want to use. phpBB is freely downloadable, but there are others that must be bought from a vendor. Which package you pick is really up to you.

The specific software that the SDMB runs on, [vBulletin](http://www.vbulletin.com/), must be purchased from Jelsoft.

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**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\
**Post date:** [July 6, 2005, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-forums-like-the-sdmb-free/311203/4 "2005-07-06T16:40:10Z")

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Another option is to let someone else run the board.

I’ve been using Bravenet for a couple years to host a message board - for $55 a year you can have the “pro” version with no pop-ups. Their free boards are utterly infested with ugly popups, however.

Aside from url, your visitors might not even notice they’re at a different site as you can easily change the colors and even apply skins.