Advice and Recommendations

[Lauren2135]

Hello -

I'm looking for some advice concerning webhosting and message board systems. I'll freely admit now that I probably don't have much of a clue about mySQL, PHP, etc, but I'm willing to learn.

What I'm looking to do is to create a fan fiction message board - which means long posts, many different topics, etc. I've looked at Ikonboard and YaBB and the messages on these boards concerning hosts that just delete your account if you use them. (Which worries me.)

I'm on a limited budget here and I'm not really sure if I should spend the money purchasing a bulletin board software or purchasing a decent webhost. What is the best combination of webhost and bulletin board software for someone that's on a budget and doesn't want to kick a lot of money into something that might not take off right away??

Any advice, thoughts ANYTHING is appreciated!

Thanks,
Lauren

[Archbob]

Actually if you want to run a popular message board like the one here, you have no option but to get a dedicated server. However, there are many free ezboard communities at www.talkaboutbooks.com

[Bruce]

Hi, Lauren. :)

The key is to start small. Your site will take time to grow, and if/when it does outgrow the current hosting plan you culd always upgrade to a larger plan or even a dedicated server.

Since you are just starting out, I wouldn't suggest buying forum software. There are plenty of good free alternatives. You may want to check out phpBB (http://phpbb.sourceforge.net). It uses php/mysql but is really simple to install. After your forum grows you can easily upgrade to another forum, such as vBulletin, very easily.

As for hosting, you may want to check out http://myacen.com[/url]. The prices are cheap, but they also enable you to grow over time.

[Lauren2135]

Thank you :)

Right now, I have a web hosted message board at xsorbit.com, but it has a character post limit (which sucks for fanfiction stories, you have to break up your post too many times for my taste).

I went to http://www.woltlab.de and liked how their boards look. They recommended using http://www.portland.co.uk - would that be a good (and free) start to my message board?

I took at look at Myacen and they looked really reasonable too... ;)

~Lauren

[Coight]

Originally posted by Lauren2135
Thank you :)

Right now, I have a web hosted message board at xsorbit.com, but it has a character post limit (which sucks for fanfiction stories, you have to break up your post too many times for my taste).

I went to http://www.woltlab.de and liked how their boards look. They recommended using http://www.portland.co.uk - would that be a good (and free) start to my message board?

I took at look at Myacen and they looked really reasonable too... ;)

~Lauren

If you plan on having an active bulletin board 100mb's of bandwidth is not much. But if you are just starting out portland will do fine :)

[NexDog]

Hi,

The new phBB2 is now out and is far superior to the old one. I really recommend you have a look at the forum. It has all the features like vbulletin but it's free! :)

They have an active support board at this location (http://phpbb.sourceforge.net/phpBB2/). I think it's kinder in respects to server load than alot of boards out there, thus we plug it to alot of of our clients.

[Lauren2135]

Back again - my forums are starting to come together. I've ended up with phpBB now (I change my mind, so often!) because of the easier instructions for setup and install. :biggrin2:

Coolfreepages.com worked the best for me as well, but for some reason I'm getting this displayed:

Warning: Can't connect to MySQL server on 'revelations.iwebland.com' (111) in /users/iwebland.com/revelations/phpBB/install.php on line 39

Warning: MySQL Connection Failed: Can't connect to MySQL server on 'revelations.iwebland.com' (111) in /users/iwebland.com/revelations/phpBB/install.php on line 39

Am I doing something wrong or is coolfreepages.com not MySQL compatable like they said?!?

~Lauren (feeling very stupid about all this.)

[NexDog]

Hi,

Have you set up the database correctly? Then did you enter the db user name and pasword in the config.php?

These are the normal reasons for gettting this error. It's basically telling you that it can't your db. So double check everything and try again.

So is the phpBB2 you're trying to install?

[Lauren2135]

No - this is phpBB1.4

They were saying on the phpBB2 support forums that it's just a beta version and it's not recommended to run yet. Since, I'm so new at all of this I didn't want to chance it.

So, is the error my fault or coolfreepages's??

[alexnguyen]

It sounds like you need to edit your config.php file with the correct database username/password. Strictly, a "you" thing, not the web host's.

[NexDog]

What is coolfreepages? PHPBB is developed by SourceForge.

Anyway, it looks the problem is your end. What kind of control panel are you using? Also there's nothing wrong with phpBB2, works fine though it's still beta.

Did you check all your details in the config.php. I could install it for you if you wish. I run a hosting company so I think I'm trustworthy enough.:)

[Vegs]

Hi

the problem is not the username or the password, if your mySQL database is located at the same server as your site, you will have to use localhost as the hostname.

[NexDog]

Good point. But without looking at the config.php, we're all just guessing.

[Vegs]

actually from the error that lauren2135 posted previously, I know for sure you need to put localhost in hostname instead of the domain.

[Lauren2135]

So I should change:

Warning: Can't connect to MySQL server on 'revelations.iwebland.com' (111) in /users/iwebland.com/revelations/phpBB/install.php on line 39

to...

www.coolfreepages.com

Will that solve the problem? I'm not surprised that it's MY fault, because I'm very new and very inexperienced at this.. :confused2:

~Lauren

[AsianDOC]

No, you should change your mysql server to the word localhost

[meichan]

Try http://www.infodoma.com

The prices are reasonable. Most of the other CHEAP CHEAP ones don't have as much support and dont overlook "unlimited". The guy that runs this is honest and true and i have my site hosted with him and he has taken care of every support question ive had ^^

Try it!
Mei:)

[Vegs]

Originally posted by meichan
Try http://www.infodoma.com

The prices are reasonable. Most of the other CHEAP CHEAP ones don't have as much support and dont overlook "unlimited". The guy that runs this is honest and true and i have my site hosted with him and he has taken care of every support question ive had ^^

Try it!
Mei:)

this had nothing to do with the question she asked

[NexDog]

Wrong forum maybe? :D

[niv]

More like wrong thread to spam in... :confused2

[Vegs]

it's that's obvious isn't it ? :D

[Lauren2135]

:) Hello...

Well, I finally figured out how to setup and install OpenBB on my coolfreepages.com account... The support at OpenBB was really great because they had to practically hold my hand the first time..

However - I think that coolfreepages.com has gone down - I can't access my site, the main page of cfp.com either. Oh well, getting what I paid for huh??:p

Thanks to everyone (and :p to the spammers) for their suggestions! :)

~Lauren