EZboard.com Forum (vs phpBB)

[Silverwire]

I want to put up a decent forum, (not a mission critical part of the business, but important) but don't have much time to administer or moderate it. I have never put up a forum before and do not know how much work it requires.

1) Is a board like phpBB something I can upload to site at my host and configure (my host fully supports the database connection) or do I need actual access to the server?

2) I know that with EZboard I may lose the advantage of long-term control, but are there any other disadvantages? It seems to be a good deal from the standpoint of not having to worry about costs of server space, bandwidth, security, ease of install. The costs of their "gold community" seem reasonable, especially considering it is tied to traffic volume, so it takes some of the risk out. In other words, it may cost more, but only if I have high traffic, which is currently speculative.

Any comments are welcome!

 

[GeorgeK]

phpBB can be uploaded using FTP, and then configured using your browser (assuming someone sets up the database for you, i.e. gives you a username/password). You don't need shell/root access.

 

[Silverwire]

Thanks George. As it turns out, my host (NT server) doesnt have PHP on it, so that eliminate vBulletin, phpBB, ikonboard.

Snitz Forums looks like the next best option that I can put on the NT Server (doesn't require php). Unless someone can point me to a better one.

 

[system0]

you can upload phpbb in minutes - it is incredibly easy to install and administer

you need mysql and php from your host

if you have problems with it drop me an email and ill do my best to help you out

 

[tonyk2000]

The main difference is if there are any content issues, you may find censorship from ezboard staff. It depends on your posts though... Well, if this dnforum posts were at ezboard:
some stupid lawyer may find "for sale" post about a domain name sale they feel trademarked. Without any WIPO process, they may simply submit a complaint to ezboard legal department. Ezboard would remove this post.
If you published a whois output, ezboard may remove this post as well - "privacy violation"!. You may not even bother to publish a whois output.
Read ezboard terms of service TWICE and decide for yourself...
I know this because I moderate one ezboard non-domains forum.

 

[GeorgeK]

Silverwire: does your webhost support Perl? If so, there are a lot of good boards based on Perl. See:

http://www.hotscripts.com/Perl/Scripts_and_Programs/Discussion_Boards/

many of which are free (e.g. Ikonboard, YaBB)

 

[Silverwire]

Originally posted by GeorgeK
Silverwire: does your webhost support Perl? If so, there are a lot of good boards based on Perl. See:

http://www.hotscripts.com/Perl/Scripts_and_Programs/Discussion_Boards/

many of which are free (e.g. Ikonboard, YaBB)

Thanks George! I'm leaning toward Ikonboard now.