# Starting a Forum



## pritish_kul2 (Mar 5, 2007)

Thinking of starting up your own forum? 
Well, it's hard, but definately worth it in the end. 
Well, here's a list of some forum software you may want to consider. 
Even with a little description for you. 


Free Web Forum Software 

These software packages can be used to set up forums on your own Web site, and are available free. 





ASP-DEv XM Forums 
Linear software newly rewritten as XML-based forum. Available as inexpensive hosted service, option for commercial license, or free with 'powered by' logo. 
Developer: ASP Resources 
Platform: Windows 

Basic Bulletin Board Script 
See WebBBS. 

Ceilidh 
Displays the developer's banner ads. (Buying the commercial version lets you eliminate the ads.) Features e-mail notification and listserv capabilities. 
Developer: Lilikoi Software 
Platforms: UNIX, Windows, OS/2, Macintosh 

ConferWeb 
Simple system with linear discussions. Also suitable for use as a guestbook. Free for non-profit use. All sites must register. 
Developer: Brian Johnson 
Platform: Macintosh 

COW - Conferencing On Web 
Exceptionally powerful for a freeware product. Similar to YAPP. 
Developer: Eric Klavins, San Francisco State University, University of Michigan 
Platform: UNIX 

Discus 
Uses a tree structure for categorizing topics and subtopics, but each discussion is presented as a continuous, linear stream of responses. Available in English and several other languages. 
Developer: DiscusWare, LLC 
Platforms: UNIX, Windows (written in Perl) 

DiscussionWeb 
Remembers what you have read (something most freeware systems can't do). 
Developer: Bob McQueen 
Platform: Windows (Written in Perl; UNIX version planned.) 

PHP-Nuke 
A Usenet News system based on PHP. 
Developer: phpnuke.org 
Platform: UNIX 

Ruboard 
Simple BBS software, originally modelled after WWWBoard. 
Developer: Andrew Maltsev 
Platform: UNIX (written in Perl) 

SEO-Board 
Simple message board implemented with PHP and MySQL. Designed to be search engine-friendly. 
Developer: Hristo Hristov 
Platform: UNIX 

Snitz Forums 
Feature-rich message board software similar to UBB, based on ASP. 
Developers: Snitz Communications 
Platform: Windows, UNIX with ASP-enabled server 

Sporum 
Freeware. Supports both threaded and linear discussions; stores messages in an SQL database. 
Developer: KaYue Mak, Smallpig.net, Mike Robb, and others 
Platform: UNIX (written in Perl) 

Teemz 
Customizable, linear message board software. 
Developer: Elated Communications, Ltd. 
Platforms: UNIX, Windows (written in Perl) 

Thread-IT 
Simple message board software implemented with Active Server Pages. 
Developer: yMonda 
Platform: Windows 

W-Agora 
BBS software that features a multilingual user interface and ability to upload file attachments to messages. Comes with full source code in PHP. 
Developer: Marc Druilhe 
Platforms: UNIX, Windows 

WebBBS 
A template you can hack to suit your own needs. Formerly known simply as "Basic Bulletin Board Script." 
Developer: Selena Sol 
Platform: UNIX (written in Perl) 

WebMoot (formerly known as WebÞing) 
Features realtime chat and e-mail participation. 
Developer: Nick Kew, WebThing Ltd. (WebÞ) 
Platform: UNIX 

Web Wiz Forums 
ASP-based bulletin board software. Free download, but there is a modest fee if you want to remove the Web Wiz branding and links from the user interface. Requires MS Access or SQL Server. 
Developer: Bruce Corkhill 
Platform: Windows 

WikiWikiWeb 
A simple but powerful tool that's unlike anything else. Essentially, a wiki is an open-ended, interlinked set of web pages that anyone can edit or add to. A wiki can be used as a discussion forum, a database, an organically grown encyclopedia... you name it. There are now many versions, written for many different platforms. A list is available here. 
Developer: Ward Cunningham and others 
Platforms: Many 

WWWBoard 
Very widely used. 
Developer: Matt Wright 
Platform: UNIX 

W3 Interactive Talk (WIT) 
Highly structured forum software designed for group decision making. Probably the first Web forum system (created June 1994). Unknown if still available. 

Developer: Ari Luotonen, CERN 
Platform: UNIX 

W3news 
CGI-based Usenet newsreader. Connects directly to NNTP servers. Page layout is configurable through template HTML pages. 
Developer: Kasper Peeters 
Platform: UNIX 

XMB Forum (Extreme Message Board) 
Based on PHP and MySQL. 
Developer: XMB Group 
Platforms: UNIX 

YaBB (Yet another Bulletin Board) 
Perl-based message board software. 
Developer: Zef Hemel and others 
Platforms: UNIX, Windows (written in Perl) 

YaBB SE 
Enhanced version of YaBB. Not supported since March 2004. The development team has gone on to create SMF. 
Developer: various 
Platforms: UNIX, Windows (written in Perl) 

zForum 
Zope-based forum. Works with MySQL or Postgres. 
Developer: various 
Platform: UNIX, Windows 

Zorum 
Based on PHP and MySQL. Supports both linear and threaded discussion views. A commercial release is planned, but the original will remain free for noncommercial users. 
Developer: Zoltan Nagy 
Platform: Linux


And a few more. 

Open Source Software 

Open Source refers to software that is available under a license that permits its use, study, modification, improvement and redistribution. 


AZbb 
Forum based on PHP. Modify for nonprofit and personal use only. 
Developer: AZ 
Platform: UNIX, Windows 
Backtalk 
Text-based linear forum software, compatible with YAPP. Comes with C source code. 
Developer: Jan Wolter and Steve Weiss 
Platform: UNIX 
Bazaar 
Bazaar is configurable through template files, though significant technical skills are required for full utilization. Allows the creation of a variety of applications in addition to message boards, such as polls, FAQs, and announcement boards. 
Developer: Mike Sosteric 
Platform: UNIX (written in Perl) 
BBMatic 
Simple bulletin board software. 
Developer: Joe DePasquale 
Platform: UNIX (written in Perl) 
Beehive Forum 
Open-source forum based on PHP and MySQL. Features frame-based layout, email notification, private messaging system, and extendable user profiles. 
Developer: Various 
Platform: UNIX, Windows 
BlazeBoard 
PHP-based message board software with email notification, instant messaging, polls, and other features. 
Platform: UNIX 
Caucus 
Formerly a commercial product, Caucus is a high-end, powerful, and extremely customizable linear forum software, now available as open source. Support, services, and add-ons are available for a fee. 
Developer: CaucusCare 
Platform: UNIX 
Class-1 Forum Software 
Based on PHP and MySQL, and distributed under the GNU General Public License. 
Developer: Class-1 Web Design 
Platform: UNIX, Windows 
Code Project Discussion Boards 
Open source message board software, implemented as an Active-X control and ASP scripts. 
Developer: Uwe Keim and Chris Maunder 
Platform: Windows 
D3E - Digital Document Discourse Environment 
Open Source tool for document-centered discussions. Works with customized versions of HyperNews and Phorum. 
Developer: Tamara Sumner, Simon Buckingham Shum, and others 
Platform: Windows, UNIX 
E-Blah 
Open source bulletin board implemented in Perl. 
Developer: Justin 
Platforms: Windows, UNIX 
eThreads 
Supports distributed servers. Requires Perl and mySql, though it isn't clear if this software is still available for download. 
Developer: Eric Richardson 
Platform: UNIX 
FruitWare BBS 
Displays all messages in a forum on one page. 
Developer: FruitWare 
Platform: UNIX (written in Perl) 
FUDforum 
Bulletin board with many features, including tracking which posts each user has read, moderation, support for multiple languages, and integration with newsgroups and email lists. Requires PHP and MySQL or PostgreSQL. 
Developer: Advanced Internet Designs 
Platform: UNIX 
*hypernews.org/]HyperNews [/url] 
Allows discussions to be distributed across multiple Web servers. Must display HyperNews license/copyright. 
Developer: Daniel LaLiberte 
Platform: UNIX (written in Perl) 
Ikonboard 
Flat (linear) message board software featuring email notification and instant messaging. 
Developer: Ikonboard.com 
Platform: UNIX (written in Perl) 
InterMix 
Allows readers to register approval and interest ratings for each message. Complete source code is freely available. InterMix II is in development. 
Developer: Collective Communication Inc. 
Platform: Windows 
JForum 
Open source forum software implemented in Java. Requires a database (MySQL, PostgreSQL, Oracle, SQL Server, etc.) 
Developer: Rafael Steil and the JForum Team 
Platform: Windows, UNIX 
jGossip 
Forum software based on Java and the Struts framework. 
Developer: jResearch.org 
Platforms: UNIX, Windows, Mac 
LWGate 
Web interface to mailing lists; includes Web browsing of a mailing list archive. Development on this product appears to be frozen. 
Developer: David W. Baker 
Platform: UNIX (written in Perl) 
MHonArc 
E-mail gateway: permits Web browsing of a mailing list or newsgroup archive. 
Developer: Earl Hood 
Platforms: UNIX, MS-DOS 
miniBB 
A minimalist, yet nicely designed, bulletin board. Can be integrated with an existing user database. Open source. Requires PHP and either mySQL or PostgreSQL. 
Developer: Paul Puzyrev and Sergei Lariono 
Platforms: UNIX, Windows (written in PHP) 
mod_virgule 
Open source forum and blog software which drives Advogato. Also see the Virgule scripting engine. 
Developer: Raph Levien and others 
Platforms: UNIX 
mwForum 
Open source threaded forum software implemented with Perl and MySQL. The user interface is available in English, German, and several other languages. 
Developer: Mark Wichitill 
Platform: UNIX 
MyBulletinBoard (MyBB) 
Free bulletin board based on PHP and mySQL. 
Developer: Chris Boulton and others 
Platform: UNIX, Windows (written in PHP) 
OpenACS 
A suite of open source modules designed for building web-based communities, originally based on ArsDigita's ACS. 
Developer: Ben Adida, Don Baccus, and others 
Platform: UNIX 
Phorum 
Open source message board software implemented with PHP and MySQL. Features e-mail notification and moderated posting. 
Developer: Brian Moon 
Platform: UNIX 
phpBB 
Popular open source message board software implemented with PHP. Features e-mail notification. Requires an external database (MySQL, MS SQL, PostgreSQL, or Access). 
Developer: The phpBB Group 
Platform: UNIX, Windows, Macintosh 
Pinguinite 
Highly customizable open source forum software designed for Linux/Apache/MySQL system. HTML template design with innovative features and administrative options. 
Developer: Neil McIver 
Platform: UNIX (written in Perl) 
Prattle 
Simple open source forum software with a linear conversation structure, implemented with PHP and MySQL. 
Developer: Steve Yelvington 
Platform: UNIX 
PunBB 
Open source message board software implemented with PHP. Requires an external database (MySQL, PostgreSQL, or SQLite). 
Developer: Rickard Andersson and others 
Platform: UNIX, Windows, Macintosh 
Quicksilver Forums 
Open source forum software implemented with PHP and MySQL. 
Platforms: UNIX, Windows 
Scoop 
Open source system similar to Slash. 
Developers: Brent Metzler, Rusty Foster, Chad Kreimendahl, and others 
Platform: UNIX (written in Perl) 
SKForum 
Open source system based on J2EE and MySQL, which also features an address book, a wiki, polling, a guest book, and other widgets. 
Developer: Anders Hovmöller 
Platform: UNIX 
Slash 
Open source news and message board software implemented with Perl and MySQL. 
Developers: Patrick Galbraith, Chris Nandor, Brian Aker, and others 
Platform: UNIX 
SMF (Simple Machines Forum) 
Open source community software based on PHP and MySQL. 
Developers: Jeff Lewis, Joseph Fung, David Recordon, and others 
Platform:Windows, UNIX, Macintosh 
Squishdot 
Open source blog and discussion software inspired by Slashdot. This is a plug-in module for Zope. 
Developer: Butch Landingin and others 
Platform: UNIX 
UseBB 
Free, open source bulletin board software based on PHP and MySQL. Features RSS and topic subscriptions via email. 
Developer: Dietrich Moerman and others 
Platform: UNIX 
Vanilla 
Free, open source, multi-lingual discussion forum software based on PHP and MySQL. 
Platform: UNIX, Windows 
Venice Web Communities System 
Linear forum software with open source, under development. 
Developer: Eric Bowersox and others 
Platform: UNIX, Windows (written in Java) 
Yazd 
Open source, Java-based forum software. Uses JDBC to connect to a wide range of supported databases. The user interface is available in several languages. 
Developer: various 
Platform: UNIX


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## bbalegere (Mar 5, 2007)

Please provide the links also.


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## Pathik (Mar 5, 2007)

any sources dude???
btw the best r
free - phpBB
paid - vbulletin, invision..


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## pritish_kul2 (Mar 6, 2007)

ASP-DEv XM Forums - *www.asp-dev.com/main.asp
Ceilidh - *www.lilikoi.com/
ConferWeb - *quicksilver.caup.washington.edu/software/default.html
COW - Conferencing On Web *calypso.rs.itd.umich.edu/COW/about.html
Discus - *www.discusware.com/
DiscussionWeb - *merlin.mngt.waikato.ac.nz:5000//dw/  
PHP-Nuke - *www.phpnuke.org/
Ruboard - *amsoft.ru/ruboard/
SEO-Board - *www.seo-board.com/ 
Snitz Forums - *forum.snitz.com/
Sporum - *www.tucows.com/preview/8681
Teemz -  *www.teemz.com/
Thread-IT - *www.ymonda.net/
W-Agora - *www.w-agora.net/en/index.php
WebBBS - *www.extropia.com/scripts/bbs.html
WebMoot (formerly known as WebÞing) - *www.webthing.com/software/moot.html 
Web Wiz Forums - *www.webwizguide.info/web_wiz_forums/default.asp?mode=forum 
WikiWikiWeb - *c2.com/cgi-bin/wiki
WWWBoard - *www.scriptarchive.com/wwwboard.html
W3 Interactive Talk (WIT) - *www.w3.org/WIT/
W3news - *www.aei.mpg.de/~peekas/w3news/
XMB Forum (Extreme Message Board) - *www.xmbforum.com/
YaBB (Yet another Bulletin Board) - *yabbforum.com/
YaBB SE - *www.yabbse.org/yse_history.html
zForum - *www.zforum.org/
Zorum - *zorum.phpoutsourcing.com/

Open Source Software 

Open Source refers to software that is available under a license that permits its use, study, modification, improvement and redistribution.

AZbb - *www.azbb.org/
Backtalk - *www.unixpapa.com/backtalk/
Bazaar - *sourceforge.net/projects/bazaar
BBMatic - *www.getcruising.com/crypt/bbmat.html
Beehive Forum - *beehiveforum.sourceforge.net/about.html
BlazeBoard - *sourceforge.net/projects/blazeboard/ 
Caucus - *www.caucuscare.com/ 
Class-1 Forum Software - *class1web.co.uk/downloads.php
Code Project Discussion Boards - *www.codeproject.com/asp/codeproject-forum.asp
D3E - Digital Document Discourse Environment - *d3e.sourceforge.net/
E-Blah - *www.e-blah.com/
eThreads - *www.ethreads.com/
FruitWare BBS - *www.phonelosers.org/FruitWare/scripts.htm
FUDforum - *fudforum.org/forum/
Ikonboard - *www.ikonboard.com/
InterMix - *www.intermix.org/ 
JForum - *www.jforum.net/ 
jGossip - *sourceforge.net/projects/jgossipforum/    
LWGate - *www.netspace.org/~dwb/lwgate/
MHonArc - *hydra.nac.uci.edu/indiv/ehood/mhonarc.doc.html  
miniBB - *www.minibb.net/
mod_virgule - *www.advogato.org/  
mwForum - *www.mwforum.com/ 
MyBulletinBoard (MyBB) - *www.mybboard.com/
OpenACS - *www.openacs.org/
Phorum - *www.phorum.org/
phpBB - *www.phpbb.com/
Pinguinite - *pinguinite.com/
Prattle - *prattle.sourceforge.net/
PunBB - *www.punbb.org/
Quicksilver Forums - *www.quicksilverforums.com/
Scoop - *scoop.kuro5hin.org/ 
SKForum - *soft.killingar.net/wiki.view.action?wiki=SKForum
Slash - *www.slashcode.com/ 
SMF (Simple Machines Forum) - *www.simplemachines.org/
Squishdot - *www.squishdot.org/  
UseBB - *www.usebb.net/
Vanilla - *www.getvanilla.com/
Venice Web Communities System - *venice.sourceforge.net/
Yazd - *www.forumsoftware.ca/


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## thunderbird.117 (Mar 6, 2007)

*en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_Internet_forum_software


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## nileshgr (Mar 6, 2007)

mybb is the best www.mybboard.com


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## shashank4u (Mar 6, 2007)

ya the best are 
phpbb free.
and vbulletin paid.
and also now the phpbb and vbulletin has their own cms's also.


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## pritish_kul2 (Mar 7, 2007)

no reps


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