how do i add forums that are hosted by my own server
Download the source package(s), upload them, create the databases (if needed) and run the install script that came with the package.
If your host has Fantastico, I'd recommend using it instead.
dude ima total newbie at this , are instructions on how to do it somewhere
It depends which forum package you go for, there are many out there and all of them should come with instructions on how to install them.
were do i get these forum packages from
One common forum is phpBB.
I use MyBB and MyUPB
The latter doesn't require mySQL
