19 replies to this topic

[Tim]

Arcade Master, on 22 January 2012 - 09:55 PM, said:

If you were going to start a new forum based on free forum software, which script would you use?

I'd probably be looking at either phpBB or SMF. Without doing any research, I'd probably lean towards phpBB due to it's larger userbase. But I'd also be interested to know which software froment would go with.

[WriteStuff]

If you're opening a forum on your website, what are the early precautions you can take to keep spammers from targeting your site? I imagine spam in the forum could sink a site right from the start.

[froment]

Arcade Master, on 22 January 2012 - 09:55 PM, said:

If you were going to start a new forum based on free forum software, which script would you use?

I would use SMF without any doubt, since I'm familiar with it, and I like its features and appearance.

[froment]

WriteStuff, on 24 January 2012 - 05:13 AM, said:

If you're opening a forum on your website, what are the early precautions you can take to keep spammers from targeting your site? I imagine spam in the forum could sink a site right from the start.

Yup, if new users see a lot of spam, they will think twice before joining such a forum.

I for one found that questions / answers is the best protection, for me it works better than captcha (you know, you ask question "What is the colour of the sky?", and member needs to reply "Blue", or whatever general questions you can imagine).

It also helps to add account activation by member, not instant activation; that means member must go to his mail and confirm his mail address.

That's protection against bots. Though, there will be always human spammers, real people who therefore register successfully, so you also must be active in your forum - at least twice or three times a day check for spam and delete it!

[Tim]

froment, on 24 January 2012 - 06:51 AM, said:

Though, there will be always human spammers, real people who therefore register successfully, so you also must be active in your forum - at least twice or three times a day check for spam and delete it!

I certainly agree. I've been very lucky not to have had any spammers register here yet. I use multiple types of protection to keep spammers away such as captcha, question/answer, IPB Spam Protection Service and account activation by email. I don't know which one of these is protecting the community from spammers, but I'm thankful that it's working!

[sadek]

I suppose does HostGator or Bluehost can host a successful forum?
actually they have a sql query limit.

[Arcade Master]

sadek, on 25 January 2012 - 05:03 AM, said:

I suppose does HostGator or Bluehost can host a successful forum?
actually they have a sql query limit.

Well I've been told to stay away from unlimited hosts because they'll cut me off if I use to much CPU and other resources...

[Frank_webhosts-uk]

Free hosting is always going to be terrible. Hosting is a business and ultimately you get what you pay for. However there are some really good deals to be had out there at the min.

I would look for shared hosting with Plesk. Plesk lets you install PHPbb with just a few clicks and does all the mail and datbase stuff for you.

I'm rubbish at forum rules, am i allowed to put a link in here for my own company?

[Tim]

Frank_webhosts-uk, on 23 March 2012 - 11:18 AM, said:

Free hosting is always going to be terrible. Hosting is a business and ultimately you get what you pay for. However there are some really good deals to be had out there at the min.

I would look for shared hosting with Plesk. Plesk lets you install PHPbb with just a few clicks and does all the mail and datbase stuff for you.

I'm rubbish at forum rules, am i allowed to put a link in here for my own company?

Unfortunately we don't allow advertising outside of our advertising forums. But can I ask why you recommend windows and plesk over cpanel Linux?

[VopaHost]

Frank_webhosts-uk, on 23 March 2012 - 11:18 AM, said:

Free hosting is always going to be terrible. Hosting is a business and ultimately you get what you pay for. However there are some really good deals to be had out there at the min.

I would look for shared hosting with Plesk. Plesk lets you install PHPbb with just a few clicks and does all the mail and datbase stuff for you.

I'm rubbish at forum rules, am i allowed to put a link in here for my own company?

The only reason you would need Windows/Plesk for shared hosting is if you're using ASP. Other than that, a Windows environment isn't optimal for shared hosting.