[rguy84]

Hey guys just have a question about PHP forums...I see that the DBForums is very very active and stuff. But does anybody know how much space and bandwidth is dedicated to this site in general. For my faterity site we added a php forum to it. Right now we are just using a old(er) computer as our server and only people that are directly on our network or that we give them the port number to get access. We are going to be launching on a site soon, and going to make it known via the other chapters this nice(r) forum is up than the few that other chapters have. We may only let the chapters in the states boardering us know about the forum. But if we go nation wide we don't want this forum sucking our space and bandwidth up due to members etc. Thanks

[Pat Phelan]

I'd strongly suggest looking at one of the hosted solutions instead of trying to run up your own box for something like this. There are companies that make this process pretty easy.

I'm not sure if RackSpace (the company that hosts dbforums.com) provides this service, but if they do I'd recommend them. I'm actually looking at using them to host one of the semi-public boards that I do the geek-grunt work for as a test to see if I want to move more of them when the current contracts expire. I've got a sales contact now, and expect to have some tech contacts in the next 30-45 days or so.

The companies that provide this kind of hosting service basically give you free use of their servers and bandwidth, and sometimes even throw in storage if you generate enough traffic. They then sell the advertising rights to recover their costs.

Be careful to read the fine print though, since some of the companies claim the right to use any material posted as they see fit (you surrender copyright, etc to all material posted). This is a VERY bad thing! Avoid it like the plague.

If you have enough cash to get started (usually well under $1000), you can also do this on your own. You basically lease out the server, buy the software, arrange for the advertising, and manage the box yourself. This is a bit more work and requires some cash up front, but then you own all of the content in every way, shape, and form. It can also become a pretty decent money-maker too, assuming you get some click-through on the ads (in a frat this is pretty likely if you can control the advertisers and encourage your brothers to investigate the advertisers). Aside from making some money for your house, you get some great experience to post on your resumé!

-PatP

[rguy84]

Originally Posted by Pat Phelan

I'd strongly suggest looking at one of the hosted solutions instead of trying to run up your own box for something like this. There are companies that make this process pretty easy.

We are just doing the at home thing now, because the space given by the university is a pain to set up MySQL and stuff on. We are getting a full-fledged domain and stuff soon. Its just temporary, and with 35-40 ppl that has access to it its not bad. Plus the machine is like 500mhz with 128mb

Originally Posted by Pat Phelan

I'm not sure if RackSpace (the company that hosts dbforums.com) provides this service, but if they do I'd recommend them. I'm actually looking at using them to host one of the semi-public boards that I do the geek-grunt work for as a test to see if I want to move more of them when the current contracts expire. I've got a sales contact now, and expect to have some tech contacts in the next 30-45 days or so.

Is it just forum space or actual web hosting? If its other than just forum, can you hook me up?

Originally Posted by Pat Phalen

The companies that provide this kind of hosting service basically give you free use of their servers and bandwidth, and sometimes even throw in storage if you generate enough traffic. They then sell the advertising rights to recover their costs.

Be careful to read the fine print though, since some of the companies claim the right to use any material posted as they see fit (you surrender copyright, etc to all material posted). This is a VERY bad thing! Avoid it like the plague.

If you have enough cash to get started (usually well under $1000), you can also do this on your own. You basically lease out the server, buy the software, arrange for the advertising, and manage the box yourself. This is a bit more work and requires some cash up front, but then you own all of the content in every way, shape, and form. It can also become a pretty decent money-maker too, assuming you get some click-through on the ads (in a frat this is pretty likely if you can control the advertisers and encourage your brothers to investigate the advertisers). Aside from making some money for your house, you get some great experience to post on your resumé!

-PatP

Yeah, we are also getting another site to sell shirts and stuff that we made. Another brother that just signed mentioned something about he has part or all of a server and can get his hands on it. I don't know the details about that setup exactly but he was told to be on the web Committee. I am one of three chairs and am the main graphical designer.