Seeking small-site Forum ware.

[J. Sinclair]

I'm planning to add a message board service to a small new site... don't want to mess with server/software/etc, so I've decided to try a board host for a year or so first. Two or three look promising.

My question: Is this a place where I can bring up company names and see if anyone's had encounters pro or con with them? If not, perhaps there are suggested services I could comparison shop?

[Smarky]

I think ezboard.com offer a good service. The boards are failry nice and not to complex. If you go to http://www.ezboard.com/find.html you can see a lot of examples.

[mjames]

Originally posted by J. Sinclair
My question: Is this a place where I can bring up company names and see if anyone's had encounters pro or con with them? If not, perhaps there are suggested services I could comparison shop?

Hi, J. Sinclair, do I know you? First, I recommend you do a search right here for forums comparisons. I am positive there are already existing threads on this topic, so read those before starting your own. And for the record, you are allowed to post here about user experiences with companies.

[J. Sinclair]

Thank you Nocturnal.

No, mjames, I don't think we've met. I'm sure this topic isn't foreign here, but I've lurked in and out for a while and can't seem to find what I need. Perhaps I'm not making the most of the search utility. I'll keep on looking.

Quite specifically, I'm interested in any feedback I can get on an outfit called BulletinBoards.com. They have a great many slickly packaged demos, but they can't refer me to any web sites actually using their service. They just refer me back to their demos, like that's all I need to see before I plunk down money for a year of service.

I did sWhois, and I queried BBBonline about them -- nothing came up hinky, but they're only a year old too.

Anyway, thanks for your insights folks.

John

[creole]

If you're actually looking to spend $$ then look no further than the SitePoint forums which run vBulletin (vBulletin.com). Another good quality (free) forum solution is phpbb (phpbb.com).

[mjames]

Originally posted by J. Sinclair
No, mjames, I don't think we've met

Oh, my apologies then. There is another J. Sinclair I know, thought you were him.

[Smarky]

Originally posted by creole
If you're actually looking to spend $$ then look no further than the SitePoint forums which run vBulletin (vBulletin.com). Another good quality (free) forum solution is phpbb (phpbb.com).

I have to argee with you here. Haven used both software I recommend them both. If you have PHP and compatible database software this is worthwhile and I would recommend it above a hosted soloution. However I think Hosted software is what you asked for? Am I right in thinking this? If I am wrong then going with vBulletin is what would also recommend to you.

[Kat]

Originally posted by creole
look no further than the SitePoint forums which run vBulletin (vBulletin.com).

My site is currently using UBB by infopop, and I loved it until I started coming here. All of the features that my visitors have asked for are in vBulletin, but my ISP doesn't have MySQL (whatever 'that' is )

I would switch in a heartbeat vBulletin is great, and worth the money, in my opinion.

I WANT vBULLETIN !!

Kat

[J. Sinclair]

Absolutely -- most all of the standalone software I've looked at exceeds the hosted solutions.

Deciding factors: it's a small, topical site with a small budget and an unknown visitor response. We're thinking we'll just try a BBS-type thing for a year or so to see what shakes out. That's why I'm paying particular attention to the SitePoint forums on site promotion.

Yahoo! is our host, but we want something that's not a yahoo! club... something seamlessly integrated. Maybe I'm wheel-spinning, it won't be the first time, but with JimWorld's advice on community building... well, I'm optimistic.

Many thanks to mjames, kat, creole, and Nocturnal.

Wouldn't it be nice if there were a trustworthy ratings and feature comparison site... one that wasn't paid for by the vendors themselves.

Salt Lake John