Some question about making a forum

[Julia.Ru]

Hi all!
In May I launched my own forum on psychology (dedicated to one of its branches) using free hosting and a free design at their server. One of the freelancers I was working with suggested promoting my forum. So first we decided I needed buy my own domen and put the forum on paid hosting.
I'd been on free hosting simply because I'm not a professional programmer and wanted to use some of the free ready designs.
Now I've got some questions.
1) Is using phpbb forums a good idea? If I use them, will I have the rights for the content of my forum? Will it be my own forum?
2) That freelancer also sugggests providing some space of my site for free, for example, to let others make their own forums on my site. I think it's a good idea, but
a) how can I provide others with such service if I even don't know how to make a forum myself?
b) wouldn't it be a better idea to provide users with free space for making their own blogs? or something like this?
Maybe, my questions may seem silly to some of you, but I'm just a newbie in many things.

[ButterflyWoman]

Originally Posted by Julia.Ru

Is using phpbb forums a good idea?

It depends on your needs. For a very high-traffic forum, phpbb can be problematic (though newer releases are more stable, I must say). Also, because it's free and the source code is openly available, there are a LOT of exploits out there for it, so you need to make sure you keep it updated.

On the positive side, it's very well supported, with lots of add ons and themes available.

Originally Posted by Julia.Ru

If I use them, will I have the rights for the content of my forum?

No.

Originally Posted by Julia.Ru

Will it be my own forum?

Yes. Though the legal status of the posts of individual members is still in copyright limbo (that's a wholly different kettle of fish, though).

Originally Posted by Julia.Ru

how can I provide others with such service if I even don't know how to make a forum myself?

You can just give them the space, without any promises or guarantees, but that doesn't seem at all like a good idea. You're opening yourself to exploitation, big time, unless you know exactly what you're doing.

Originally Posted by Julia.Ru

wouldn't it be a better idea to provide users with free space for making their own blogs?

You could, if you think that's important for them to have. But, honestly, there are a zillion free blog sites out there, many of them quite good and extremely stable.

Originally Posted by Julia.Ru

Maybe, my questions may seem silly to some of you, but I'm just a newbie in many things.

Your questions don't sound silly, they just sound basic. You're right to ask them, it's how you learn stuff!

[Julia.Ru]

Thank you for the reply, CaterpillarWoman.
As for providing free space for blogs, etc. - that freelancer thinks it will help in promoting my site immensely. Probably, I'll give it a try, anyway.
One more question to you or others:
Is there a program like a forum-constructor? So I don't have to do the programming myself.

[ButterflyWoman]

Originally Posted by Julia.Ru

that freelancer thinks it will help in promoting my site immensely.

Seems unlikely. I haven't seen that providing blogs to users does anything in particular to increase traffic. I suppose it can, if there are a lot of users with high quality posts, but that's not something you have any control over, so it could end up being a dud. It's not a BAD idea, just not necessarily one that will pan out as hoped. (Remember, there are also about a zillion to the power of a million blogs out there. Only the ones with good content ever get any real traffic.)

Originally Posted by Julia.Ru

Probably, I'll give it a try, anyway.

Might as well, so long as it's secure and you have the space and bandwidth.

Originally Posted by Julia.Ru

Is there a program like a forum-constructor?

Most forums come pretty much intact. You might have to make changes to do themes, but most forums these days have an interface that allows that (you don't have to do it manually). You just have to follow the instructions to install it. I've never installed vBulletin, but I have installed phpBB and as I recall it was pretty straightforward, so long as you've got phpMyAdmin (or other ability to create a database) and a decent FTP program.

[Julia.Ru]

Originally Posted by CaterpillarWoman

Most forums come pretty much intact. You might have to make changes to do themes, but most forums these days have an interface that allows that (you don't have to do it manually). You just have to follow the instructions to install it. I've never installed vBulletin, but I have installed phpBB and as I recall it was pretty straightforward, so long as you've got phpMyAdmin (or other ability to create a database) and a decent FTP program.

The point is, I don't want to use phpbb, vBulletin or other forum constructors now that I know that the forum won't belong to me. I mean, are there any software or templates so I can make a forum offline and then upload it?
For example, I have software, an html-editor, where you just press the buttons to create a website and don't write the code yourself. Then this site can be kept on my computer or uploaded.

Is there such software to create a forum or I'll only have to write the code myself?

[ButterflyWoman]

Originally Posted by Julia.Ru

I don't want to use phpbb, vBulletin or other forum constructors now that I know that the forum won't belong to me.

I'm sorry, I seem to have confused you. My fault.

The software won't belong to you, no, but the content will. I'm sorry if I confused you about the copyright comment, it's just that there is some contention as to whether or not the individual posts belong to the site owner or the original writer.

So I could say that since I wrote this, Steve Pavlina doesn't hold the copyright on it, and therefore can't use it for anything without my consent, etc. But, as noted, this is a DIFFERENT topic. I mentioned it partly because of my habit of stream-of-thought writing (which can be confusing, and I do apologise), and partly because you can't assume that just because someone writes on your site, you then own the copyright on the material. (But I don't know if that's been tested in any court yet; in principle, every author owns their own work, at least in countries that are a party to the Berne Convention, but - stressing this - that is another discussion entirely and doesn't have anything to do with software for running forums, though it is related to the topic of ownership rights on web content.)

Originally Posted by Julia.Ru

I mean, are there any software or templates so I can make a forum offline and then upload it?

Forums don't really work that way. It's not simple HTML. There's a lot of back end code.

Constructing forum software from scratch is complex, and involves some pretty serious coding (programming), and it takes months or even years of development. So it's a pretty lengthy and complicated proposition.

Originally Posted by Julia.Ru

Is there such software to create a forum or I'll only have to write the code myself?

Only if you're a programmer, really. The back end mechanics are way beyond click and load.

[Aminka Ozmun]

Hi, CaterpillarWoman,

You seem to have really got into this stuff, so I hope you don't mind my asking for your opinion on bbPress, BuddyPress, Mingle Forum, or any other forum plugins for WordPress. And have you tried Simple Machines Forum?

[ButterflyWoman]

Originally Posted by Aminka Ozmun

bbPress

I've never gotten it to work, but I didn't try very hard, to be honest. I was just fooling around with it.

Originally Posted by Aminka Ozmun

BuddyPress, Mingle Forum, or any other forum plugins for WordPress.

Not familiar with them, sorry.

Originally Posted by Aminka Ozmun

And have you tried Simple Machines Forum?

Trying to remember... I think I may have investigated it at some point, but I can't say I have much experience with it.

[Julia.Ru]

Originally Posted by CaterpillarWoman

I'm sorry, I seem to have confused you. My fault.

The software won't belong to you, no, but the content will. I'm sorry if I confused you about the copyright comment, it's just that there is some contention as to whether or not the individual posts belong to the site owner or the original writer.

So I could say that since I wrote this, Steve Pavlina doesn't hold the copyright on it, and therefore can't use it for anything without my consent, etc. But, as noted, this is a DIFFERENT topic. I mentioned it partly because of my habit of stream-of-thought writing (which can be confusing, and I do apologise), and partly because you can't assume that just because someone writes on your site, you then own the copyright on the material. (But I don't know if that's been tested in any court yet; in principle, every author owns their own work, at least in countries that are a party to the Berne Convention, but - stressing this - that is another discussion entirely and doesn't have anything to do with software for running forums, though it is related to the topic of ownership rights on web content.)

You see, what I'd like to know is not whether I'll have the rights for the content itself, but whether I'll have the rights for the forum. I mean, on the free hosting I used, they didn't let me back up my forum, etc. Will my options be limited the same way if I use phpBB forums?
If yes, then I'll have to refuse using them and make it all myself.

[ButterflyWoman]

Originally Posted by Julia.Ru

You see, what I'd like to know is not whether I'll have the rights for the content itself, but whether I'll have the rights for the forum.

If you mean the software, no. It's someone else's work, and you can't own the code. But that's not really what you're asking (this is why we're confusing each other, I think; we're using conflicting terminology ).

Originally Posted by Julia.Ru

I mean, on the free hosting I used, they didn't let me back up my forum, etc. Will my options be limited the same way if I use phpBB forums?

You install phpBB in your own web space. You should be able to make backups of any portion of it you want. (I think that's what you're asking.) The free forum hosts don't provide anything but access to a forum you can administrate; a full web host gives much more freedom and many more services in that regard.

When you use phpBB, you download the software (scripts, written in PHP scripting language) and you upload it to your paid web hosting service via FTP. You install it, including the database information. All of that is hosted (stored, presented, etc.) on the server of the web host. You can delete things, change things, take backups, whatever. You can (and should) make regular backups of the database (which is where all the information content is stored), and, I suppose, of the generated pages, themselves (I've never done that; just the DB is enough for me).

So, yes, you should have full control of the material.

There. I THINK that's what you were asking.

Apologies for taking so long to work out what you were asking, and for confusing you.

[Julia.Ru]

The confusion is because of me, too, but it's hard to explain it in my native language, let alone in English.

Originally Posted by CaterpillarWoman

You install phpBB in your own web space. You should be able to make backups of any portion of it you want. (I think that's what you're asking.) The free forum hosts don't provide anything but access to a forum you can administrate; a full web host gives much more freedom and many more services in that regard.

When you use phpBB, you download the software (scripts, written in PHP scripting language) and you upload it to your paid web hosting service via FTP. You install it, including the database information. All of that is hosted (stored, presented, etc.) on the server of the web host. You can delete things, change things, take backups, whatever. You can (and should) make regular backups of the database (which is where all the information content is stored), and, I suppose, of the generated pages, themselves (I've never done that; just the DB is enough for me).

So, yes, you should have full control of the material.

There. I THINK that's what you were asking.

Apologies for taking so long to work out what you were asking, and for confusing you.

Yes, you've answered my question, thanks a lot! Now I know I can use phpbb and may start creating my forum)))

[ButterflyWoman]

Originally Posted by Julia.Ru

The confusion is because of me, too, but it's hard to explain it in my native language, let alone in English.

It's okay. We got it sorted in the end.