Simple Machines Forum

[jhadhar65]

I know there are forums more closely aligned with this topic, but I figure that EL34 (and likely others) have experienced pretty much everything that I'll need explained in order to make this an interesting thread...

I'm very near to the point of launching a forum related to my work.  It has to be secure, i.e. SSL connections requiring user log in, and not publicly browseable (well, that's the way samba spells it).  It seems the Simple Machines solution is pretty popular, which also happens to be the platform we're on now.  I'm leaning that way mostly, though, because I'm kind of hoping to be able ask Doug for advice when I get in over my head.

A few more tidbits:  I have possession of the server that the forum will reside on (LAMP) and plenty of bandwidth (~20-50Mbps).  I'll be expecting not more than 130 or so members total, not all of which will even sign up, much less participate.  I'd like to allow attachment uploads, but probably with about the same restrictions we have here as to formats, file sizes, etc.  I don't know yet what those criteria ought to be exactly.  I also don't know where I should draw the line as to how long to let content sit there before it's allowed to fade into the aether and be overwritten.  I know Linux servers and LAMP applications, but I've never done this specific thing before.

Any and all suggestions for a noob would be greatly appreciated...  You can tell I'm a noob because I don't really even know what I should be asking at this point.

[tubesornothing]

I have not used SimpleMachines, but have used phpBB. It was for a small private forum, and worked quite well. Easy to administer.

FWIW

[EL34]

We have been through 3 different fourm softwares since the start
Two of them sucked

The SMF software is awesome and free, which is always nice.
The SMF developers really know their stuff

Your web host has to provide access to a database.
All the data on this forum resides in a MySql database
There are just a few folders on the EL34world server, all the data is on another server were the database resides.

It easy to set up the database as per the SMF install intructions
You use the PHPMyadmin control panel to make the basic set up which is username and password.
Then you enter that into SMF during the install and it will set up all the tables in the database.

It's easy for you to do admin stuff in SMF
Post aging, attachments sizes, etc are all easy setups in the admin section of SMF

[jhadhar65]

>...have used phpBB...

I was originally looking at phpBB, but it occured to me to see what Doug is using.  After that, I dug a little deeper into SMF and found a lot of good reviews from SMF admins, so the rest came naturally.

>Your web host...

I just got it installed today, but got sidetracked with OpenSSL.  I'll have to finish that part first and then get back to SMF.  I thought I had finished that part already.  This forum has to transit SSL, so...

I did make the main directory, though, and blew out all the subdirectories and files.  I haven't even looked at the conf file(s) yet.  The server is mine and it runs apache2, mysql, and php on Ubuntu 10.04 Server.  Ubuntu is a little more old school considering that it doesn't have a solution for unified admin controls... like YaST, for instance.  That's fine with me, though.  I like it a lot and the Debian repositories are second to none.  I've nuked SLES off of three servers this summer in favor of Ubuntu Server and have no regrets at all.

Is yours sitting on a Windows or Linux server?  Did you use the web installer they have?

[EL34]

My web sites ar on two windows servers
Mainly because I started using Front page many many years ago and now I use Web Expressions.
And so I always requested windows servers so I could use the front page extensions.

There's a lot of cool editing things I like using Front page extensions on servers and so I cling to that for now until the extensions become extinct.

Setting up the forum:
I extracted the SMF folders locally and then uploaded the folders to my web site.
It's just like moving folders in windows explorer on a windows server.

You don't have to go through all that permissions crap and setting chmod stuff.

Now a days, web host are tyring to get away from windows servers.
I set up my girl friends web site with my same web host, but they would only give her a linux server.
None of the cool editing features work in Web Expressions.
It's a big pain to get the same jobs done.

[simonallaway]

You used to be able to get the Frontpage Extensions for Linux (well, Apache) but I don't know if that's still true.

[EL34]

I don't think web host want to deal with Front page extensions anymore
They keep saying there are security risk.

I have been told that my web host will eventually drop them and I will have to be moved to a new upgraded server with new control panels, etc.

[jhadhar65]

Yeah, Frontpage is all but defunct.  I was still using those extensions over at godaddy up until about this time last year I think.  I let that site go and I'm not currently using godaddy right now, so I don't know if they still support that or not.

Today I finally got SSL configured right, Apache's referencing it, and HTTPS requests are pulling up my certificate right, so all's good there.  I was trying to set up my own CA and was having issues.  I don't need to do that really and out the door it went.  I'm just creating and signing my own certs for now and may just leave it at that.  Like I said, this will be a closed community related for work anyway.

I'll get back to the SMF configuration tomorrow and I expect I'll have some questions when I get there.

[jhadhar65]

The forum lives!  It's still a bit away from production rollout, but it's there and I've started the admin configuration.  Man, there are a bazillion choices to make.  Some of the choices are obvious to me since I'm pretty much modeling the functionality of this forum, but some of them I'm just guessing and staying with the defaults.  I'll be back at it tomorrow and I'll start posting some specific questions about certain settings as I go through it.  I was just getting my feet wet this afternoon.

I started having some unusual SSL and Apache issues after the initial SMF configuration, but all in all, I think it's going to be a very cool experience.

[EL34]

Cool, glad it's up and running.

I'll help with the admin settings.

[jhadhar65]

Thanks Doug!!  I had other issues to work out and didn't get to work on it today.  I'll be gone the next couple of weeks on other business and won't be able to get back here to work on it until then.  That's the way it goes - just when you get to the good part, something comes along to interrupt it.  Oh well...

I'll be back at it in two weeks.

[EL34]

ok, see ya

[jhadhar65]

Here's one for you, Doug:

I've got things pretty well figured out - the control panel stuff has a lot of options, but pretty well self explanatory if you take the time.  I had a little trouble getting it to work with my server's email program (Postfix), but that's worked out now.  What I don't know is what I should do to prepare my moderators.  I don't really know what instructions I should provide them or what my general guidelines should be to tell them what they should or shouldn't be doing.  Some of them have forum experience and some don't.  How do you recommend I go about this?

[EL34]

I don't know
The guys here just do what they can.
If they need to move a post, edit a post, etc.

I didn't really give them any instructions
The main thing is to have more eyes on the forum in case someone gets out of hand

[jhadhar65]

You've got experienced forum guys here, though.  I've really only got one of those.  I've never been a mod myself, so even I don't really know much.  The only things I know are what I've learned here from watching.

I think what I should do is go over to one of the guys who is a mod on there and see what he sees when he's logged in.  I don't really know what controls mods have.  So far, I've designated one guy as a global mod and a few others as individual board mods to get started.  Not all of those will remain, I'm sure, and I'm hoping that things will sort of go like they do here, with the level-headed, participatory ones becoming obvious mod candidates.  The main thing at this point, I think, is to find out exactly what controls they have.  I'm out of the office tomorrow, but I'll be back in there Friday.  I'll take a look then and see.

[EL34]

Set youself up another user name or two

A mod and a regular member

Then you can log in and see what they see

Delete the members later if you want.

I have a regular member name also so I can see they see.

[Ritchie200]

I have a regular member name also so I can see they see.

So YOUR the guy that keeps emailing me to shut up and go away!  Or maybe it's Ken....

Jim