Because I’d like to. And not just for my own amusement. No, this is for the benefit of tomorrow’s future, (not to mention the today’s present). It also has the potential of making me look good at work.
I manage an arts and culture center on a major university campus, and I also have a role in directing the new college of Arts, Culture, and Humanities. One of the primary goals of the college is to create a sense of community amongst the students and to get them active in events and programs.
I’d like to try hosting a message board to give them a place to interact both with the faculty and with themselves. But I have absolutely no idea how this works.
I quickly skimmed the vBulletin site, since that’s the software I know (and have come to love), and I’ll read more about it in time, but some basic questions:
First off, should I go with vBulletin? The number of users would be only a small fraction of the SDMB. Are there cheaper ones out there that may have less frills but would suffice? I just really love the user interface of this board.
Purchasing a license: what does this mean exactly? Does that mean I install it on one server? Why would anyone need more than one license? (I ask because they offer price breaks at many levels up to 50. Why would anyone need 50?)
How difficult is it to set up? I have pretty decent computer skills and knowledge for a layperson, but will it require someone more expert?
It’s not that complicated. I’ve set up several message boards for people all over the internet. First you’ll need a webhost and a hosting package that includes support for PHP and MySQL. Most paid hosting services do, so finding one shouldn’t be a problem. Next you’ll need to install and configure your message board software. I recommend tForum, a free message board package I did some scripting work on a few years ago. It’s got a lot of the same features as vB, and is highly customizable using templates. They seem to have gone offline, but I still have an original distribution ZIP archive I can let you have. I’ll even help you set it up. Email me if you’re interested.
It’s not free, but I use www.websitetoolbox.com. For one year, it cost me $42, and it’s pretty user friendly and customizable. Plus, it has many of the same features and “feel” as this place.
I’m waiting to hear back from the person who has created the college web page, but in the meantime, what is php and SQL and all that technical stuff? If the message board is on our own server, what do we have to know about this? Is it likely that our tech support people will know it? Am I going to become unpopular with them for asking them to take this on?
PHP is the scripting language that powers this board, as well as the aftorementioned phpBB and tForum. It is used to create server-side applications, such as message boards and chatrooms. MySQL is a form of SQL, which is a database. The PHP scripts use this database to store user registrations, forum architecture, option settings and, of course, the messages themselves. If you’re running your own server, you’ll need to download and install the PHP and MySQL environments appropriate to your server platform, both of which are free and relatively easy to install and configure.