Message board on website

likeglue

Is there some kind of generic message board template out there somewhere that basically has all the code already written? Seems that all message boards pretty much do the same thing so there must be a way to get one up and running without reinventing the wheel and coding it myself. At the rate I'm learning this stuff it'll take me 10 years!

bpat1434

I'm going to defer you to an Off Topic thread that was moved to the Echo Lounge:
[OT]PHP Based Bulletin Board
I listed a lot of bulletin board software. Some are very very simplistic, which is probably what you want to use. You can take that code, and either adapt it (if the license allows) or use one of the suggested ones and wrap it into your site (which may be easier).

~Brett

likeglue

Wow, I had no idea that there was that much available for setting up a message board! Can anyone recommend one that is 1. free 2. easy to set up and maintain?

bpat1434

Go to my previous post. There's a full list there. There's also opinions of other users on what boards are good.

Personally, I like phpBB (just released 2.0.14 yesterday), but SMF is just as good. If you want to mod the board, use phpBB, if not, SMF will work.

Make sure you read the descriptions about the boards, some are pay-for-use, and others are free. Most are free.

~Brett

bradgrafelman

I also recommend phpBB.

If you're into heavy board mod'ing, phpBB is for you.

If you're a newbie and just want a nice looking board with downloadable themes/skins, ready to be thrown onto your site, phpBB is for you.

[/2 cents worth]

kcgame

Originally posted by bradgrafelman
I also recommend phpBB.

If you're into heavy board mod'ing, phpBB is for you.

If you're a newbie and just want a nice looking board with downloadable themes/skins, ready to be thrown onto your site, phpBB is for you.

[/2 cents worth]

Yes, agree with that. phpbb is more than enough for most users.

likeglue

Awesome, thanks!