Fantastico cPanel Hosting – Discussion Boards
Today I will be discussing the features of Discussion Boards, also known as Forums in the Fantastico tool of your cPanel hosting account. I am sure if you have been browsing the internet for a while you must of at least landed up on a forum or you may even be part of one or many? Forums are excellent tools and can actually be seen as one of the many advantages of the internet. Forums enable people to connect, whether they connect on a certain related topic or simply just to share jokes.
Creating or starting a forum can be an amazing opportunity and for this reason it is wonderful to have the simple and easy option of using Fantastico which includes two options of forum software highlighted below. Many people use forums on a daily basis for a range of topics, from receiving relationship advice to sharing and entering into discussions about politics. A forum should be seen as a community where people can talk and chat, not by verbal communication, but through messages posted on threads.
There could be many reasons why you would want to start a forum, maybe you are a fishing enthusiast that enjoys going fishing and would like to start a website where other fishermen can come and share their pictures of their latest catches, share stories, talk about lures, bait etc. This is just one example of where someone would require a type of discussion board software. Deciding to start a forum should not just be a quick decision, you will need to plan it out, below are a few points that you should keep in mind when thinking of starting a forum:
Tips to consider when starting a forum:
- Choose your forum software wisely! Your forum should be easy to access, easy to use, and come with “visitor- friendly” features.
- Your forum should provide a range of different topics, you want to have the forum organised and easy to use.
- Moderators and rules, every forum requires dedicated moderators to combat spam and keep trouble making members under control.
- When starting out, just like for any new website you will need to promote the forum and get people interested.
- Have fun, connect, and make your forum a place where people can learn, socialise and enjoy!
Do your research, plan the project and look online for guides and advice if you are planning to start a forum.
Now to the software options, as previously mentioned Fantastico offer the options below for a discussion board/forum website:
- phpBB:
- Short Description: A widely-popular open-source bulletin-board package, works well, simple user interface and admin panel, clean look, scales well, and can be customized.
- For more info you can view the website: http://www.phpbb.com
- SMF:
- Short Description: Elegant. Effective. Powerful. Free. SMF is all of the above. SMF is a next-generation community software package and is jam-packed with features, while at the same time having a minimal impact on resources.
- For more info you can view the website: http://www.simplemachines.org
Remember that these and many other amazing Fantastico tools are available in your cPanel account. Simply login to your cPanel and scroll down to Software/Services and then click on the Fantastico De Luxe link (blue smiley face) to access them all.
Thank you for reading this latest Fantastico post highlighting forum/discussion board software.
Daniel Hall
