In several previous articles I mentioned my having downloaded
and installed the fantastic PHPBB open source forum. I shared
with readers the lengthy and tedious process of selecting
the right mirror, downloading the files to my computer, and
following all the long, drawn out, and complicated set up
steps. Fortunately, what was once a procedure that took the
better part of a day can now take 30 minutes or less to complete!
Let’s take a look how you can shorten the entire set
up process and start benefiting from this free, popular program.
When I set up my first two PHPBB forums in June 2005, I
did so under duress. Just days earlier, my then message board
host – EZBoard – had their entire system shut
down by hackers. Or so they claimed. My two popular sites,
the Aviation Employment Board and the Corporate Flight Attendant
Community were left in the dark as EZBoard’s system
rendered the sites virtually inoperable. With a repair promised,
but several weeks away, I decided that I needed to quickly
move away from EZBoard and over to a forum where I could
exercise full control. Enter PHPBB.
Because I needed to use a cumbersome EZBoard converter file
to transfer threads over to the new site, I had to take the
long way of setting up my new forums. Indeed, the converter
file was imperfect and quite a number of threads never made
the transition. Still, when all was said and done, the new
forums were light years ahead of EZBoard.
Since setting up my first two forums, I had to set up a
third forum for a customer. This time, I chose the quick
route by setting up the forum through my web hosting company.
As is the practice of some web hosts, fully set up forums
are available for your downloading. Simply select a web host
offering this feature, establish your database with them
[usually MySQL], and download the files. Within minutes,
a fully usable forum will be established on your site and
all you have to do is set up the forum parameters and then
you are ready to go.
PHPBB is a terrific forum, one that doesn’t charge
set up fees or an annual license charge [unlike vBulletin]
and is certain to help you make your site a success. Download
PHPBB today to get started on building your online community!
Copyright 2006 – For additional information regarding Matt
Keegan, The
Article Writer, please visit his blog for
wit, quips, and freelance writing tips. |
