chaikwa

I've been tasked with establishing a new message board for people who deal with and treat juvenile firesetters so that we can exchange ideas, ask questions, announce conferences and workshops and so forth and so on.

I know NOTHING about these message boards except how to post on them, so I know I probably have a big learning curve ahead of me. But can anyone lend me some insight into the workings of a site like this? I assume I have to have the site hosted as I'm not going to be buying my own server anytime soon. ANYTHING you can tell me would be a tremendous help!

Thanks in advance guys!

Hvytrkmech

Wish I could help on the V-board, I have no idea on how or where to go on that. However I do believe that there is to much talking to correct problems like that. We need to old school and hold their hands over an open flame to teach them.


Sorry Scott, I could not resist.

I will do some checking with a buddy of mine in the it field.

Good on you and Mike for stepping up.

Totallyrad

Scott, if you're going to set up a board like this, the software is available from vBulletin. Jack does all the software work here. If you look at this link there are several others listed. They're probably scaled down and not as "cool" but may get the job done less expensively.

http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/archi.../t-162885.html

chaikwa

That's how we teach! Wanna be an instructor?

I want to set up a board like this because I like the layout and navigability. I also like HOW this site is run and will mirror those methods as closely as possible, tho I doubt the new site will reach anywhere near the membership and scope of DTR.

'ERROR 404. File not found.'

I've poked around the vBulletin site a bit and am confused as to which level will work for my purposes. I've also found a hosting site but don't know if this is the route I need or want to go. I'm so new to this I don't even know which questions to ask.

Fordzilla

Here's a site that has been helpful to me for solving problems... http://forum.vbulletinsetup.com/ ......Ben

whitebuffalo

i hate to be "that guy" (the one who instead of giving you the help you want tells you to use something else), but, have you considered phpBB http://www.phpbb.com/

its open source (FREE), easy enough to use, gives regular updates etc.

i have webspace through IXwebhosting http://ixwebhosting.com/ (based on advice from someone here years ago). ~50 bucks a year with a free domain name, and have a forum set up there for me and my buddys.

if you're cheap (like me!) it might be something to look into.

bigfoot

I know that you say this, at least somewhat in jest .But as a last resort that is exactly the method that we used on my son. It worked.

After repeated butt busting, and talking too, found him one day in the garage playing with matches 3’ from the gas can. Made him hold his hand out and held a lighted match under his hand for just long enough to hurt and explained to him what a horrible way that would be to die.
Never had anymore problems, come to think on it from that day forward he seemed to understand that if we told him not to do something, we had a reason for it. Not that he was a model child; he wasn’t, but never anything major.

chaikwa

I have, yes. But I never saw one with the layout and ease of use we have here. And yes, I am cheap too, but the last thing I want is pop-ups or ads all over the forum that I have no control over. I'd rather pay a reasonable fee in exchange for control over site content.

I'm all for whatever method works. However, the method you used is rarely successful. Usually, in a curiosity motivated firesetter, after 'treatment' such as you described, the curiosity turns to revenge and the problem gets worse. Notice however, that I've used words like 'rarely' and 'usually'!

steelblitzkrieg

Yuku boards used to be free if you can stomach the Ad Banners (Not sure if they still are, it's been awhile since I used them), otherwise it was pretty cheap to ditch the ads.

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sourc...kmd0fARUIAObnQ

whitebuffalo

no pop ups or ad content is included on the phpBB stuff. i am not particularly savvy on customizing layout though.

i cant link to mine because there might be some veiled profanity, but if you're interested, pm me and ill send you a link. i'll give you my login and all that if you're interested in seeing the admin side of it. i only have a few members and its pretty inactive right now (lamewads )

chaikwa

PM sent. Thanks everyone for the replies!