Hi

Can i make a forum where you have to be registered to view parts of the forums and also so you dont need to keep typing in name and email address each time you want to reply to a post?

I have used a number of forums as a participant and none require you to enter an email address to post.

Most forum software on the market includes registration as standard. Bravenet is unusual in this respect.

yes you type your name to post here at bravenet forums

E-mail and rest of stuff you don't have to have


It is just general fill in questions if you want the information and want to fill it out


With any forum you have to sign in with some form your user id and password


I have never typed my e-mail address when I fill out things like the guestbook, forums or any services here

I don't want the SPAM or I use a phony e-mail address or something


But if anything just fill in your name part and a subject of your post if it is a question you are asking and then enter your message is all you have to do

Hi

I meant i want to create a website using Bravent so that guests can view threads (minus some) but to post you have to register.
In replies to email is it the same as on here where you have to keep putting name in or once registered Bravent do a forum where it remembers you. I have looked around but i cant see one that does the above. I's also need to give 3 other admins permisions to edit / delete posts and in extreme cases ban people (our clan web page is down so thinking of making one with the same set up as it)
Regards anyone that can help
Roy

You haven't looked hard enough. I have worked with MyBB alot. Just follow the link and read all about it. It's a free PHP based forum that can do just about anything you want. However, you will find that it is far more complicated to initiall configure and maintain than something like Bravenet's forums.

If you follow the Bravenet help link, and then the "PHP Program Compatibility", you might not see it listed, but it still might work OK. But while your on that page, you will see all the other PHP forums Bravenet does support. Most of the decent forums offer the same set of capabilities.

They are almost all free so if you install one and don't like it, delete it and try another. Of course, they all require paid hosting and a MySQL data base. If your trying to do this with a free site, you can't.

Browser: FIrefox

OS: Solaris, Redhat, Fedora, Suse

Hi Philo

Many thanks for reply. I've had a look around and seem to have got my head round the idea i could do with phpBB to get the forum i need. God all the tutorials are full of jargon i dont really understand!
I'm at this point now:

Have bought a domain name (via bravenet)
Have paid for 3 months hosting (via bravenet)
Have set up a SqL datatbase (on bravenet)

Have downloaded phpBB3 and decompressed it on my own P.C. It says to put it on my server???? Does this mean in the database or in the file manager?

Have downloaded a style that i think is really cool.
The documentation seems to imply use phpBB admin control to use this. Do i put this in the same folder im going to upload phpBB to?

I'm really sorry for being a pain but i now have headache with trying to work out some of the jargon like root directory, where to install things to etc.
Any help would very much appreciated.
Regards
Roy

Yes, I know it's a little tough to figure out initially. I have been working with computers for over 40 years now, long before the WWW ever existed, and sometimes installations don't make a lot of sense. Plus, once you get it installed there is another level of complexity getting it configured. It just takes time and patience.

You started out correctly. You have the domain name, the paid hosting and the database set up. The domain name is fine, but it is a separate issue from the forum. However you should probably get that set up first. There may be a day or two of delay, waiting for your domain name to work it's way into the various domain name servers.

It means you put it in the file manager. That is your web site. The general method of installation is to first, create a subdirectory, and then install the forum in that subdirectory. In the past, I have simply created a folder named "forum" or as they suggest "phpBB3". Then access to your forum, once everything is installed, would be in the form of "www.yourdomain.com/forum" or "www.yourdomain.com/phpBB3". The data base you set up will be asked for during installation. Be prepared with all the information.

It looks like phpBB comes in two formats, ZIP and BZ2. The way they intend the forum to be istalled is to, upload the compressed package to your web site ("forum" folder), and then uncompress it on your web site. Bravenet lists "gzip compression" as part of their hosting package. I know what "gzip" is, and use it regularly on my Unix machines. Bravenet says it's available on free and paid hosting, but I looked around and couldn't fine any information.

But in the end, "gzip" is a different format than ZIP or BZ2, and won't be very useful. So the alternative is to uncompress the package on your local PC and then use FTP to upload everything. With FTP you should be able to grab entire folders and have it upload everything in the folder.

The caution when you are uploading via FTP is to, make sure the directory structure is exactly the same on your web site and that none of the file names are changed. Some FTP tools have the tendency to change the case of some file names. Check the tool you use to make sure it does no file name modification. PCs usually don't care about character case but Bravenet's servers are running Linux, which is case sensitive.

The "Quick Install" instructions provides you with a list of folder permissions that need to be set up correctly. The easiest way to check and adjust the permissions is with a FTP tool. Some of the folders get wide open permissions. At the end, the access is usually secured. But in the mean time, anyone who knows how can get into your forum. So it is best to do the install in a single sitting. And then check that the access is closed up at the end.

Installation is done through a web browser. There is a "index.php" file in the "phpBB3/install" directory. So just enter something like :http://www.yourdomain.com/phpBB3/install/" or "http://www.yourdomain.com/phpBB3/install/index.php" in the your browsers address bar, and start the installation.

After you are done installing the forum software, you will need to log in as the Administrator, and configure it. There should be dozens of configuration items. For example, you will set up whether someone can get an account right away or will they need to be approved by a moderator. What are the levels of Admin/Moderator accounts and what is their access privileges. And, right down to using that cool style you downloaded. Everything is under your control.

So just follow the instructions that they provide. If you have problems, you can come back here, but it would be better to browse the phpBB forums. They will probably have an answer for you quicker than this forum would.

Browser: FIrefox

OS: Solaris, Redhat, Fedora, Suse

Philo i can't say how much i appreciated your reply - it really is a great confidence builder posting questions and not getting hammered into the ground by people that think from day 2 of learning this stuff you should be as educated and competant as them.
Read your reply and picked up some valuable tips and may have already cracked another little niggle - i believe a file name was changed when i up loaded it and this is why i couldn't access it. Renamed it back to what i thought it was and hey presto!! it worked!!

I'm at the stage now where i have unpacked the phpBB3 and thanks to your pointer of /index.php seems to be up and running ok. I stayed up really late last night going through tutorials and youtube videos and found why i can't see a style i uploaded called "black pearl" This is because i need to install the other default prosilver 2 to be able to then go on and install my style i picked black pearl.
I'm still a little confused in terms of once i havegot my forum the lay out i want how do i then make it open to the public to view? Is it simply in file manager change it from locked >unlocked? Would be a God send if it really was that simple but i some how doubt it!!!