Well, the point is not for it to be obvious - you need to make it look as if those were real people talking. Use nicknames that sound normal, because that way no one will suspect. Also, I think logging in and out is a small price to pay for traffic. You log in with one account, post 5-6 messages and then log out. And in order for it not to be obvious, do something else, and then come back with another account an hour later.

Nice tut and very well explained ... i liked it..
i agree that Comunity is hard to expaned and hard to manage too.. and the only thing it need to grow up and keep it clean is a good admin no matter what is the community is about and there is always a good admin and moderating team the comunity will always grow up.
and so far i have some experience in comunity management and i have tried some of the free forums .
and i think i'll have a forum set up soon on my site ....

Im impressed. That was a very good tutorial on forums and i used it to re-create my clan forum in a whole new way and im sure its a big improvement to my community. Again, thanks for the tutorial.

Wow!!!!!!!! Nice, BIG!, Tutorial
I like it, i use to use SMF but it's kind of got boring, i like the look of the new PHPBB 3 which looks really interesting so i might have a try at it, but it requires a really high spec server which most companies do not have. I think maybe you should try installing it on Astahost to see if it works, i tried doing it on my friends site on a different host and it didn't work so i am just saying. When i get hosting with you i will probably use PHP 3 to look at it and if i like it i will stick with it. But, i already have a IPB waiting for be used and vB.

I'll tell you my idea's on each forum because i've used them all. I've done a nice summary and i hope you like it.
Don't worry, they are short so there's actually not much to read.

PhpBB
Advantages:
This is brilliant if you want a basic forum with just maybe a few add on's, not many. This forum will last you a long time and navigating round the forum is easy. Lots of themes.

Disadvantages
Security holes and the structure of it is quite bad in most ways.

SMF
Advantages:
This is a good and fun forum, there are millions of add ons to keep you entertained.
The Newest version (SMF 1.1) has a nice default layout. Lots of themes.

Disadvantages
Get's boring after a while.
Hard to use at first.

IPB
Advantages:
Very good forum, very popular. Good for big sites. Lots of good main features.
IPB has alot of respect and it's good if you have an IPB forum because people will like it.

Disadvantages
Very expensive, there are security holes and main layout is kind of plain but distinct

vBulliten
Advantages:
This is a good forum for security. Hard to hack, lots of features and options.

Disadvantages
Expensive, may be confusing at first. Admin panel is very confusing at first with all the options.


Hope you like this

-Lewis

Oh geez. I've been planning on making a Forum website, with interactive Avatars and things of the such. I know it will be really complicated but I do not plan on giving up.

I'm assuming if I do get a code I will have to override a lot of it and customize some other things.

If you have any type of suggestions, please do tell me.

Welcome to Astahost Misty

If this is your first time working with a forum, I recommend starting off with a free one (or maybe even staying with it...read on...).

As pointed out earlier, SMF (Simple Machines Forum) is free to use and is very secure. I have been using this forum on my website for years now and never had any major problems with it. Setting it up is pretty easy compared to the other forums. Some say it's confusing, but as with all other forums, I'm sure it will be a little "difficult" to navigate if it's your first time.

There is no code you need to overwrite unless you are planning on using the mods/hacks for the forums. If you plan on using SMF, installing those mods should be quick and easy to do as they have something called a Package Manager where you can install things with a few clicks.

Give it a try yourself. You can get SMF at:

http://www.simplemachines.org

Thx Guys, I have found this topic very useful I am about to establish a forum and all what I have found here learnt me how to do it:D

this was really usefull for helping me decide which forum software to use etc. i was really confused i have registered my domain name and i hope to get my forums up sometime tonight. thanks for this guide i already knew most of it but you added some good points. this forum needs more people like you to post very nice guides such as this since this guide was so great i am inspired to maybe write a few guides of my own i mean this guide was beyond perfect and i'm sure alot of other people agree its good for newbies and the old folks if they don't know which forum software to choose.

I agree, the tutorial is a little long, but it is worth the read -- thanks I would like to ask if anyone could direct me on some other forum options though. Is there a forum closely related to IPB that is open source or free?

I need one that it is secure, stable, and free!

but now with the phpbb3
PHPBB is the best forum software