creating a message board

looking for tips & advice

[Bobby1982]

Hi,
I'm interested in creating a forum from scratch. I plan to use PHP, MySql, and Flash. I have an idea of the features that I want. I only need about three sub-forums; posts are going to be threaded, and there shouldn't be too many users, so I want to be able to enable avatars of limited size. Also, I won't be too concerned with security. Any tips or advice on how I can create these features or advice on my agenda would be much appreciated. Thanks!

[gazraa]

when you build it, just keep in mind that you may want to extend it at a later date. So write your code and design your database in a way that allows you to do that. Always keep security in mind, it may bite you back if you leave it out.

make sure usability is at/near the top of your list. It may have lots of funky features, but if they are hard to use, no one will use them.

make sure you test it thoroughly before you launch it. Fixing bugs while people are using the system is a lot harder than being able to take the site down to fix it.

[domfos]

Hi,
I'm no expert on this, but I always rate simplicity very highly when it comes to forums.

[etechsupport]

Yes a simple forum is good but it should contain fresh contents like some news articles and events and calendared events with few interesting topics as the viewers should come back to it.

[netchicken1]

Why reinvent the wheel?

Download a free forum and modify that. There are great forums around with many built in features.

Hacking forums has beencoome a serious issue, if you make your own you will have to protect it against such actions.

Life's too short to start from scratch.

[rogerd]

Welcome to WebmasterWorld, Bobby1982.

Unless you are approaching this project purely as a programming exercise, I second netchicken - start with one of the many good forums available for free or for little money, and work from there.

A lot of thought, testing, admin feedback, etc. has gone into the feature set of the popular forum packages, and even if the base package doesn't do what you want you can probably find an existing hack for it.

Either way, good luck!

[MrSniffles]

what is a good free forum program?

[netchicken1]

I use xmb board as it indexes the best that I found in Google.

[domfos]

I use phpBB.
It's possible to enhance it for Google indexing. Not sure how off the top of my head tho.

[successlieswithme]

hello, i suggest use OOP method.

dont limit ur board to just 3 forums but make it as u can make as many as u wish just from ur admin control panel.

and i suggest one more, if u care to read my msgs.

instead of making one from scratch, take any existing like IPB or phpBB or VBUlletin and change it as u wish, i think it consumes less time than making from scratch.

thank you

[aghill]

I have to agree with the others based off personal experience. I started a forum on a lark a few years ago by developing my own code. I really enjoyed it, and was pretty proud of what I'd accomplished. Then to my surprise the site actually started taking off. (Holy Traffic Batman!) It came to a point where I had to make a decision on whether to keep it as a hobby and play with the code, or get a prefab package that would allow me to focus on other aspects of running the site. I chose the prefab, and am happy I did.

Can't really recommend any free packages though.. no experience with them (purchased mine).

[jschmitz]

Aghill, could you sticky me with what package you used, and why you are happy with it?

j

[jschmitz]

Aghill, could you sticky me with what package you used, and why you are happy with it?

j

[jschmitz]

Aghill, could you sticky me with what package you used, and why you are happy with it?

j