Starting a forum to fill need

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MooPoo

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Ultimate Geek

#76020 27-Jan-2011 14:14

Hi

My wife is in an occupation that (I think) would really benefit having a forum.

I have never setup a forum before but I assume it isnt all that hard.

I have the web hosting space, and I can register a domain name.

There is always the possibility of having ads on this forum too and trying to recoup the cost of running it, but am not too sure how to set this up.

Does anyone have a forum that makes a decent amount of revenue (gday Freitasm! :) )?

If anyone has any links to information that can help me I would appreciate it.

The idea of setting up this forum is not to make money. It is something that is sorely missing in this niche field and facebook just doesn't cut it.

But, If I can make some coin from it I wouldn't be adverse to it!

If anyone has any suggestions on the easiest and best forum software to use (preferably free and included with cpanel hosting) I would appreciate it.

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freitasm

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Geekzone

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#431828 27-Jan-2011 14:21

Find the software you want to run the forum on and make sure your hosting option provides the infrastructure required. Also plan for the possibility of higher traffic, having in mind some say "unlimited" but once you start getting traction they will make some noise.

Depending on the software you chose you will need to keep an eye on it. These days there are lots of exploits and people keep trying all they can to break into some forums to fill their databases with spam, malware distribution, etc.

Then you need to worry about search engine positioning, keeping an eye on speed, etc. It can be a full time job.

MooPoo

251 posts

Ultimate Geek

#431833 27-Jan-2011 14:26

freitasm:

Depending on the software you chose you will need to keep an eye on it. These days there are lots of exploits and people keep trying all they can to break into some forums to fill their databases with spam, malware distribution, etc.

Ok now you are getting me concerned.

Is there like the one main forum software most people use because it is updated all the time to prevent this sort of thing?

Or is that too much to ask for lol

freitasm

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Geekzone

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#431837 27-Jan-2011 14:28

Their software my be updated all the time, but you still need to download and apply the updates on your server.

MooPoo

251 posts

Ultimate Geek

#431838 27-Jan-2011 14:28

True, true.

jbard

1377 posts

Uber Geek

#431844 27-Jan-2011 14:34

I have used phpBB in the past which worked nicely for me and i find it is included with most cPanel hosting options.

Usually in cPanel their is a place to install applications and in their you will usually find around 5 or 6 forums that you can install and have up and running with just a few clicks so i would have a look what is on offer and then try some of them out.

xpd

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#431845 27-Jan-2011 14:35

I just fired up my forums again using SMF, nice and easy to setup long as you have PHP and SQL with your webhost. (http://www.xpd.co.nz/forums/)

Security is (and always has been) an issue with forum software, no matter what package you go with, its a good idea to get on the developers mailing list to keep upto date with bugs etc.

Ive run SMF, phpBB amongst others, I do now however prefer SMF over the others for ease of use.

As for advertising on a forum, Google Adsense is a start but there are many options available.

Gavin / xpd / FastRaccoon / Geek of Coastguard New Zealand

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MooPoo

251 posts

Ultimate Geek

#431847 27-Jan-2011 14:37

Cheers I will check out SMF.

This forum is aimed at women so i will have to find a nice soft theme for them. Hopefully something not too pink If I have to look at it a lot lol

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jbard

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#431849 27-Jan-2011 14:40

You really do need to monitor it very closely though, some clients i have will moderate their forum once a week and their is almost always pron ad's posted everyday - and they wonder why no one uses the forum :) haha

freitasm

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Geekzone

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#431850 27-Jan-2011 14:43

Yep... And people complain about moderation on Geekzone, but we don't have pr0n and spam like in other online places. We use a variety of different strategies, from blocking posts from some countries (unless you are a trusted user), using online antispam databases to check for IP and email addresses at the time of the registration, and a moderator team that follows the FUG to the line.

The only people we have ever seem complaining about Geekzone being too harsh were exactly those banned for breach of FUG.

As for monetisation, Google AdSense is the way to start it... But be careful - one fault and you are out, no coming back. Don't try to do "funny things" and don't follow get rich quick schemes you might find in some webmaster sites. also when buying a domain make sure you get something brand new - if you buy a second hand domain that have been banned from Google AdSense your entire account will be tainted.

MooPoo

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Ultimate Geek

#431851 27-Jan-2011 14:45

I have no problem keeping an eye on the forum, or enlisting an army of moderators to do it with me. I am sure I will have many offers.

If the forum was attacked, is it just a matter of deleting certain posts or how do you combat it?

jbard

1377 posts

Uber Geek

#431855 27-Jan-2011 14:50

Having moderators is good but they have to be right, no point in having 20 mods that only check the site a few times a month - you need someone who will spend at least a few hours a day on the site.

You can just delete the post and block the user but they will keep coming back, although for a newish forum this isn't so much of a problem. They tend to target forums with 100+ active users.

freitasm

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#431858 27-Jan-2011 14:52

As I said, there isn't one single solution. We use a lot of different things here to automatically get rid of spammers, and then moderators have to worry about behaviour only...

As jbard said, having an army won't do it... you need a good platoon, and a good commanding officer.

jbard

1377 posts

Uber Geek

#431866 27-Jan-2011 15:07

Also if you use google AdSense then you have to be carful where you place the ad's as one ad on a wrong page can mean you are banned.

An example of this is phpBB you can't place ad's on some page here is a guide:
http://forums.digitalpoint.com/showthread.php?t=24476

so whatever forum you use make sure you read a guide about using google AdSense with it - and do read the TOS.

xpd

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#431870 27-Jan-2011 15:20

jbard: although for a newish forum this isn't so much of a problem. They tend to target forums with 100+ active users.

I wish... within 48hrs my forums were flooded to hell with porn posts etc. And that was with SMF's built in anti-spam system activated.

Gavin / xpd / FastRaccoon / Geek of Coastguard New Zealand

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