Starting a forum

[iluvbitcoins]

Don't worry it's not bitcoin based 

I have recently felt extremly censored on the biggest forum in my country

I have seen them selectively banning, and punishing people based on political orientation, including me

I don't want to get deep into it or translate the data since it's not really relevant to the thread

I just wanted to get some advice on which forum software should I use 

I'm planning to invest up to a 1000$  in this project, but I'd love to put the most of it in advertising

I was thinking of vBulletin, it's 200$ though!

Or maybe simple machines, it's free, if it's good for bitcointalk, it should be good for me?

I'd love to hear other ideas 

I'd also like to earn some money on advertising, it is not the priority, but atleast to refinance the expenses

[merelcoin]

Don't worry it's not bitcoin based 

I have recently felt extremly censored on the biggest forum in my country

I have seen them selectively banning, and punishing people based on political orientation, including me

I don't want to get deep into it or translate the data since it's not really relevant to the thread

I just wanted to get some advice on which forum software should I use 

I'm planning to invest up to a 1000$  in this project, but I'd love to put the most of it in advertising

I was thinking of vBulletin, it's 200$ though!

Or maybe simple machines, it's free, if it's good for bitcointalk, it should be good for me?

I'd love to hear other ideas 

I'd also like to earn some money on advertising, it is not the priority, but atleast to refinance the expenses

The first beta-version of the epochtalk version of bitcointalk was opened today.

Epochtalk itself is free and open source, you might want to try that one out?

[iluvbitcoins]

Don't worry it's not bitcoin based 

I have recently felt extremly censored on the biggest forum in my country

I have seen them selectively banning, and punishing people based on political orientation, including me

I don't want to get deep into it or translate the data since it's not really relevant to the thread

I just wanted to get some advice on which forum software should I use 

I'm planning to invest up to a 1000$  in this project, but I'd love to put the most of it in advertising

I was thinking of vBulletin, it's 200$ though!

Or maybe simple machines, it's free, if it's good for bitcointalk, it should be good for me?

I'd love to hear other ideas 

I'd also like to earn some money on advertising, it is not the priority, but atleast to refinance the expenses

The first beta-version of the epochtalk version of bitcointalk was opened today.

Epochtalk itself is free and open source, you might want to try that one out?

Can you give me more information on this, my scarce google search deemed little info

[xmax]

You need to worry about the advertising second.  You need to get out there in word of mouth.  That will be your best form of advertising.  You need to also start a topic that everyone wants to talk about.  Pick something good that will draw a lot of attention.  You could also hold giveaways.  Good luck.

[merelcoin]

Can you give me more information on this, my scarce google search deemed little info

Sure, you can check out the new beta here: https://beta.bitcointalk.org
You need to reset your password, or create a throwaway account. Btw: this is the public beta of the implementation of epochtalk for the bitcointalk forum, in reality, i heared many different skins and customisations can be chosen

If you'd like to try it out, i think this is the official github page: https://github.com/epochtalk/epochtalk

[wildkens]

As soon as i've read its not bitcoin based i stopped reading. Good luck bro.

My friend started a forum and it has 4oo members but he is now crying because he cant pay his members in which he made it pay per post without sigs.

Be smart bro.

[Sharma]

As soon as i've read its not bitcoin based i stopped reading. Good luck bro.

My friend started a forum and it has 4oo members but he is now crying because he cant pay his members in which he made it pay per post without sigs.

Be smart bro.

He didn't calculate how much he'd get from advertisements before he tought it would be a good idear to start a pay-per-post service?

[ThirstyMoon]

Xenforo has a really rich design, lots of features and it costs 140$. Its cheaper than one of the options you listed.

Of course it isn't cheaper than an open source so you might look into stable versions.

[iluvbitcoins]

Can you give me more information on this, my scarce google search deemed little info

Sure, you can check out the new beta here: https://beta.bitcointalk.org
You need to reset your password, or create a throwaway account. Btw: this is the public beta of the implementation of epochtalk for the bitcointalk forum, in reality, i heared many different skins and customisations can be chosen

If you'd like to try it out, i think this is the official github page: https://github.com/epochtalk/epochtalk

nah, I don't like the design

the current bitcointalk design, is a lot better for me than that one, maybe because I'm used to it o.O

Xenforo has a really rich design, lots of features and it costs 140$. Its cheaper than one of the options you listed.

Of course it isn't cheaper than an open source so you might look into stable versions.

it seems nice, however, not really sure if it's better then vBulletin?

vBulletin is one of the most wildly used themes, so users using it should feel comfortable with it, because they have probably already encountered it somewhere  

also, a thing I would like to have is trust

something like this on bitcointalk, dunno, where and how can I acquire this 

[iluvbitcoins]

Hi me up. my friend own one of the biggest online forums, hit me up I'll link his skype.

http://moneycodeking.com

nah xD

I was doing some research and I'm starting to lean to Xenforo over vBulletin

IPB is too expensive

[merelcoin]

nah, I don't like the design

the current bitcointalk design, is a lot better for me than that one, maybe because I'm used to it o.O

They're working on the design, different skins should be available (never tried to install it tough)

something like this on bitcointalk, dunno, where and how can I acquire this 

SMF (simple machine Forum):
http://download.simplemachines.org/

It's free, but Theymos (and probably some other admins, not sure) have tweaked and patched the SMF installation for bitcointalk, so the one you'll get when installing the "plain vanilla" version of SMF will not be 100% like bitcointalk

[CoinSiteDesigner]

Yes, it's better for you to first go for the free version of forum platform.

If it gets famous and you're earning money from advertisers or any other source. If you still want to upgtade, then you can easily migrate it to vBulletin by paying a little to the developers.

[WhatTheGox]

phpbb is free and has a great support community if you want to save money.  I'd go with a paid option though then you wont get hacked all the time

----
sorry i got to post an addy up somewhere, its non related, just need it posted on forum and no idea where to put it.  1DBnuHDjb2u4iszbAvRvqFFRP4YLcgvcB2

[merelcoin]

phpbb is free and has a great support community if you want to save money.  I'd go with a paid option though then you wont get hacked all the time

----
sorry i got to post an addy up somewhere, its non related, just need it posted on forum and no idea where to put it.  1DBnuHDjb2u4iszbAvRvqFFRP4YLcgvcB2

<offtopic>
If you're staking an address, basically anywhere would be fine, as long as somebody quotes it (so a hacker cannot change the quoted text if he gains access to your account).

However, there is a central thread about this, it makes life easyer for everybody: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=996318.0
</offtopic>

<ontopic>
phpBB is indeed a pretty good piece of software... I've used it in the past, easy to install, easy to configure, easy to maintain
</ontopic>

[WhatTheGox]

Nice one, thanks for the quote and information! I will check out that thread, sorry for mini hijack OP

I would go with vbulletin personally

[iluvbitcoins]

SMF (simple machine Forum):
http://download.simplemachines.org/

It's free, but Theymos (and probably some other admins, not sure) have tweaked and patched the SMF installation for bitcointalk, so the one you'll get when installing the "plain vanilla" version of SMF will not be 100% like bitcointalk

I meant just the trust system like bitcointalk
Not the entire forum, I think trust was custom made?

[27QVUTZj8rgZP1]

...I just wanted to get some advice on which forum software should I use...

It will depend on your political orientation.

[target]

if you want easy to customize and free choose mybb.
the problem about creating a forum is how to make it busy like bitcointalk.org. you can start using postloop.com or hire someone from forumpromotion.net.

[CoinSiteDesigner]

phpbb is free and has a great support community if you want to save money.  I'd go with a paid option though then you wont get hacked all the time

Yep! That's another free software you could use, I've used it for 2 forums a few years ago.

It was easy to manage for admins and smooth for users.