Creating a forum?

[+ PapaTony]

Hello gents.

 

I’m coming up on my one year anniversary of undergoing sextuple bypass surgery

Following surgery I entered and subsequently graduated from an intensive cardiac rehabilitation program that combined exercise, nutrition, stress management and group support.

 

My program cohort was made up of 8 people and combined with other cohorts there are about 300 alumni in the Southern California area alone and the program is nationwide.

 

I’ve been a bit of an alumni cheerleader for my cohort and getting increasingly involved with others outside my group.

 

I think there’s an avenue for a forum like this one for my contemporaries to share life experiences, health decisions etc.

 

I don’t know the first thing about starting up / creating a forum and while I have looked at the site XenForo listed at the bottom of these pages I still find myself “not knowing what I don’t know” and would really appreciate any advice you guys might have based on experience. Thanks in advance.

[+ Charlie]

You have to pitch the idea to Guy Fawkes. Creating new fora is entirely his prerogative.

[OneFinger]

...I think there’s an avenue for a forum like this one for my contemporaries to share life experiences, health decisions etc.

 

I don’t know the first thing about starting up / creating a forum and while I have looked at the site XenForo listed at the bottom of these pages I still find myself “not knowing what I don’t know” and would really appreciate any advice you guys might have based on experience. Thanks in advance.

Need a little clarification. Are you wanting to start a forum on this site or separate from this site? Charlie is totally right that you'd need Guy's agreement to add to this site.

 

But, when I read you post, I assumed you were looking for info on how to a forum OUTSIDE of this site.

 

FYI, I've had numerous medical issues in the past 8 years. I really got a lot of support from forums dealing with a specific medical issue. Have you considered starting a Facebook group where people share and support each other? That may be the easiest way to start out. But, quite frankly, administering such a site, monitoring posts, and disciplining the trolls isn't my cup of tea.

[+ PapaTony]

Need a little clarification. Are you wanting to start a forum on this site or separate from this site? Charlie is totally right that you'd need Guy's agreement to add to this site.

 

But, when I read you post, I assumed you were looking for info on how to a forum OUTSIDE of this site.

 

FYI, I've had numerous medical issues in the past 8 years. I really got a lot of support from forums dealing with a specific medical issue. Have you considered starting a Facebook group where people share and support each other? That may be the easiest way to start out. But, quite frankly, administering such a site, monitoring posts, and disciplining the trolls isn't my cup of tea.

 

A new forum outside if this site!

 

I’m not on Facebook and considering the recent revelations regarding Facebook I’m glad I’m not and would never be part of it.

[+ José Soplanucas]

A new forum outside if this site!

 

I’m not on Facebook and considering the recent revelations regarding Facebook I’m glad I’m not and would never be part of it.

 

If you do not want to take advantage of the existing social networks, perhaps you want to develop your own website and public discussion groups. Buying an Internet domain and paying for a hosting service is not expensive. You will have to go through a learning curve using all the tools, but it is doable. Once you pay for the domain and hosting pretty much everything is available for free if you go basic.

Maybe you want to research also free hosting providers, where you do not have your own domain and you do not pay for hosting, like blogger.com. I am confident (although I cannot say I know this) you can install some freeware to develop public discussion forums.

[+ PapaTony]

If you do not want to take advantage of the existing social networks, perhaps you want to develop your own website and public discussion groups. Buying an Internet domain and paying for a hosting service is not expensive. You will have to go through a learning curve using all the tools, but it is doable. Once you pay for the domain and hosting pretty much everything is available for free if you go basic.

Maybe you want to research also free hosting providers, where you do not have your own domain and you do not pay for hosting, like blogger.com. I am confident (although I cannot say I know this) you can install some freeware to develop public discussion forums.

Thanks for replying. By social networks I assume you mean Facebook, Twitter, IG? Correct, I’m not interested in those.

By suggesting my own website, isn’t that what a forum (like this one) is?

[+ José Soplanucas]

Thanks for replying. By social networks I assume you mean Facebook, Twitter, IG? Correct, I’m not interested in those.

By suggesting my own website, isn’t that what a forum (like this one) is?

 

That is one of the alternatives I suggest. The owner of this forum owns the domain and has to pay for the hosting. I do not know if the software is copyrighted or shareware. You would have to pay a hosting company and buy the domain. Then using Wordpress or any other free software, you can develop your own website with your discussion forums.

[+ PapaTony]

That is one of the alternatives I suggest. The owner of this forum owns the domain and has to pay for the hosting. I do not know if the software is copyrighted or shareware. You would have to pay a hosting company and buy the domain. Then using Wordpress or any other free software, you can develop your own website with your discussion forums.

I’m still confused. I asked about creating a forum such as the one we’re on now but you mentioned website. Is there a distinct difference or does forum=website / website=forum?

[+ poolboy48220]

Website is the broader term. Anything you get to on the internet would be a website. Some of those websites (like this one) are forums, that have the ability for visitors to the site to comment and interact with each other. Other websites are just designed for people to see things without interacting with each other.

[+ José Soplanucas]

I’m still confused. I asked about creating a forum such as the one we’re on now but you mentioned website. Is there a distinct difference or does forum=website / website=forum?

 

Website is the broader term. Anything you get to on the internet would be a website. Some of those websites (like this one) are forums, that have the ability for visitors to the site to comment and interact with each other. Other websites are just designed for people to see things without interacting with each other.

 

I could not say it better.

[+ PapaTony]

Website is the broader term. Anything you get to on the internet would be a website. Some of those websites (like this one) are forums, that have the ability for visitors to the site to comment and interact with each other. Other websites are just designed for people to see things without interacting with each other.

Thanks poolboy. That’s what I thought. I want to create a forum like this.

[+ poolboy48220]

I could not say it better.

Thank you @latbear4blk !

[+ poolboy48220]

Thanks poolboy. That’s what I thought. I want to create a forum like this.

I don't know if this forum uses software written specifically for it, or something that's generic forum software. I suspect the latter, given the "forum software by xenforo" at the bottom of the page. https://xenforo.com/ I suspect it takes a fair amount of tech-savvy to install and keep it up and running, not to mention the moderation duties.

[+ PapaTony]

I don't know if this forum uses software written specifically for it, or something that's generic forum software. I suspect the latter, given the "forum software by xenforo" at the bottom of the page. https://xenforo.com/ I suspect it takes a fair amount of tech-savvy to install and keep it up and running, not to mention the moderation duties.

Yes and I referenced that in my OP

[rvwnsd]

You might want to look into using tapatalk (https://www.tapatalk.com/). You can either create your group by using your own domain and linking it to their website or simply create a group within tapatalk that would have a URL like "https://www.tapatalk.com/PapaTonyGroup." It appears to be free of charge.

[+ PapaTony]

You might want to look into using tapatalk (https://www.tapatalk.com/). You can either create your group by using your own domain and linking it to their website or simply create a group within tapatalk that would have a URL like "https://www.tapatalk.com/PapaTonyGroup." It appears to be free of charge.

I’ll check that out. Thank you @rvwnsd