"Free Hosted Forums"

[*John*]

I was just wondering what everyone thought of "free hosted forums"? Are they actually worthwhile, or is it always better to invest in hosting and do it yourself?

Here are some examples of what i'm talking about:

http://www.forumer.com/

http://invisionfree.com/

http://www.proboards.com/index.html

http://www.iforumer.com/

In fact, Paint.NET uses Forumer for their forums, and they seem to be doing ok? http://paintdotnet.12.forumer.com/index.php

Thoughts?

Cheers :)

[Dance.]

Well it really matters on what you want. If your going to have a mega forum like neowin.net then its better to invest in a host or if your going to have a small forum, like a clan forum or just a Graphics forum , I suggest you get one of the free ones :) and mask it with a free .co.nr domain :)

[halcyoncmdr]

I know for our clan forums we were using ipbfree, but they did not allow any uploads at all for free hosting, no avatars, smilies, nothing. So instead since one of our members was already hosting his own sites, etc. we decided to simply buy a vB license and use his host that he was already paying for. Granted, he could also then use that for his clients, so it was a win-win either way. But my personal sxperience with free hosting was not very good. Invisionfree and some others seem to allow uploads however, so those might be good as well. I think it basically comes down to whether you want to go through the hassle of making sure your server is running correctly and having total control over what is on there, all the files etc.; or whether you are willing to give up some options such as updating the forums, some hacks, etc. in exchange for having someone else deal with maintaining the server environment itself.

[CoLdFuSi0n]

are you looking for somewhere to have a forum hosted? cause if you are i would be willing to help you out on my space. If your interested msg me on MSN messenger at coldfusi0n82 @ hotmail . com

Edited April 21, 2007 by CoLdFuSi0n

[*John*]

Well it really matters on what you want. If your going to have a mega forum like neowin.net then its better to invest in a host or if your going to have a small forum, like a clan forum or just a Graphics forum , I suggest you get one of the free ones :) and mask it with a free .co.nr domain :)

Cheers for the tip, especially about .co.nr (Y)

I know for our clan forums we were using ipbfree, but they did not allow any uploads at all for free hosting, no avatars, smilies, nothing. So instead since one of our members was already hosting his own sites, etc. we decided to simply buy a vB license and use his host that he was already paying for. Granted, he could also then use that for his clients, so it was a win-win either way. But my personal sxperience with free hosting was not very good. Invisionfree and some others seem to allow uploads however, so those might be good as well. I think it basically comes down to whether you want to go through the hassle of making sure your server is running correctly and having total control over what is on there, all the files etc.; or whether you are willing to give up some options such as updating the forums, some hacks, etc. in exchange for having someone else deal with maintaining the server environment itself.

Yeah, I think sites like forumer are quite different? They seem to allow uploads and a fair amount of customisation? Also, the Paint.NET support forums seem to be coping well with a few thousand registered users :)

Thats what's giving me pause, do I invest in my own hosting etc, only for a site like Forumer to do exactly the same thing essentially. I mean, if it can easily accommodate a forum with a few thousand users, anything I come up with should be easily accommodated too right? :s

are you looking for somewhere to have a forum hosted? cause if you are i would be willing to help you out on my space. If your interested msg me on MSN messenger at coldfusi0n82 @ hotmail . com

Cheers for the offer (Y) But its not hosting i'm after. I already have an awesome package set up should I decide to go with my own hosting and forum software etc...

The forum i'm looking to set up is basically a forum to support a Football PC game, and to allow for football discussion in general. I'm definately expecting less than a thousand registrants in total, and far less regulars.

Therefore, i'm wondering if Forumer could give me what I need? As opposed to investing money in my own service that in essence, would do the same thing?

[CoLdFuSi0n]

Ok np at all but if there are anyone else looking for free forum hosting i am able to help them out.

[*John*]

Anyone have any more opinions on this? :)

[Dearster]

A lot of people searching for a community of members to share thoughts and views of a certain topic would rather sign up to a forum which looks more professional such as Invision Power Board. These boards are normally targetted for the more intellegent person as the person who created it actually wishes to make the forum work, as it has been paid for by the owner.

Although if you wish to only share your forum to a group of 13 - 17 year olds maybe a Invisionfree or similar software would be fine. These forums however normally end up slowly dying and end up inactive.

I only know of one really successful invisionfree forum and that is Ifskinzone.net and that is because it has alot of members searching for skins and mods for there invisionfree forums,

Patrick

[coathanger007]

http://www.alphaboards.com offers free forum hosting using the open source phpBB software.

[wvcaudill2]

Well, I dont use any free forum hosts myself, but I have a friend who uses proboards101.com, and she says its excellent. Her site has been up for a number of years, and she has tons of data on her forum.

[~ Rogue ~]

Zetaboards is pretty good.

[+Kyle Subscriber¹]

I used InvisionFree when I first started trying to be a web master, then I realized that the free ones limit you too much. Buy some cheap web hosting and grab a freebie forum like PHPBB or SMF.