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Question

disabled Veteran needs help !!

Mar 22, 2015 9:39AM PDT

I need a FREE Windows based Forum !! Is there any freeware out there ??

I just started a tribute webpage to my old ship the USS Vulcan AR-5 a very historical WW2 ship it was a repair ship that turned up all over the Pacific Ocean , She was much like Forrest Gump turning up everywhere always in the background but played a very important role ! In 1978 She made history again by being the very 1st ship to have women onboard forging the way for women to be on all ships today ! I really dont know what I am doing as far as webpage design and bought 2 domains hopefully to run the Forum on one and link them together ! any help would be GREATLY appreciated !

Discussion is locked

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Answer
Why not do what many do for this?
Mar 22, 2015 9:43AM PDT

Make a Facebook page for your ship and most of the pictures and stories can go there.

Building your web service and forums can be quite daunting. Why not go with Facebook this round?
Bob

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Been there done that !!
Mar 23, 2015 4:01AM PDT

we have one and We have outgrown it and it dont meet our needs anymore , I have been on many forums over the years and for us to become what we need to become we NEED a forum !! But thanks for your reply Happy

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There is forum software for free.
Mar 23, 2015 5:10AM PDT

But what I'm encountering are folk that want it to be without the usual workload or more. To run your own will take some decisions about time invested in learning the areas you need to get it going.

Maybe you have volunteers that can set it up?
Bob

https://www.google.com/#q=phpbb is pretty popular.

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I have asked !
Mar 23, 2015 6:15AM PDT

and there seems to be no one with the know how to do what we need done , You must consider that most of these people are up in age with no computer skills other than facebook itself ! i was hoping to find a windows base freeware software for forums , Phhbb sounded good but is Linux based requiring FTP skills and more and I dont know how to do all that !

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Re: forum
Mar 23, 2015 6:41AM PDT

A forum is run on a webserver, not on a PC. So you should find a host for your site that offers php and mysql and lets you do the setup. And yes, getting your programs on that server requires ftp.

But maybe you can find a hosting company that already has it installed, ready for you to begin the setup. https://www.phpbb.com/hosting/ might be a start. However, having the proverbial newhew that is so handy with computers probably will be a big help.

Kees

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About FTP.
Mar 23, 2015 6:45AM PDT

I think I use about 5 FTP commands in all and that is over about 2+ decades (FTP is that old!)

A windows based board sounds dangerous. That is, while my bet is phpbb can run on Windows, the security threat there would make it a non starter in my world. Who has time to deal with any of that?
Bob

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Answer
Ask other veteran webmasters, what they do
Mar 23, 2015 6:58AM PDT

Goto other veteran based websites and ask their webmasters what they do. However, if you want truly all "free" then that usually is naught as somewhere some $ has to change hands. Otherwise, such a service would be already be well known, IMHO. -----Willy Happy USMC