• 0

"Free Hosted Forums"


Question

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 :)

Link to comment
https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/555257-free-hosted-forums/
Share on other sites

11 answers to this question

Recommended Posts

  • 0

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 :)

  • 0

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.

  • 0
  sharad.x said:
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)

  halcyoncmdr said:
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

  CoLdFuSi0n said:
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?

  • 0

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

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Posts

    • Is there a 'recovery' settings option in Settings? The one where we can rollback to a previous restore point. I find it very useful if there is some issue and I have to rollback to the last stable point.
    • Google brings Gemini to all Workspace for Education subscribers by David Uzondu Google has announced that its Gemini app is now accessible to all Google Workspace for Education users, regardless of age. This brings the company's generative AI directly into the suite of tools used by millions of students and teachers. The Workspace for Education platform, if you did not know, already provides a massive suite of tools like Classroom, Docs, and Drive, which are designed to work together in a school setting. Naturally, the first question on any administrator's mind is what the company plans to do with student data. Google states that Gemini usage for these accounts falls under the Workspace for Education Terms of Service. This agreement includes "enterprise-grade data protections" and a promise that user data is not reviewed by anyone or used to train the company's AI models. It also maintains compliance with regulations like FERPA and COPPA, which are fundamental requirements for any technology operating in United States schools. The experience is not one-size-fits-all, particularly for younger students. Users under the age of 18 will get a more restricted version of the app, with stricter content filters to prevent inappropriate responses and a dedicated onboarding process to teach AI literacy. To reduce the likelihood of hallucinations, the first time a younger user asks a fact-based question, a double-check feature that validates the answer using Google Search runs automatically. For educators and older students, the AI can be used to brainstorm ideas, create lesson plans, and get feedback on work. The entire service is powered by what Google calls LearnLM, a family of its AI models supposedly fine-tuned for educational purposes. Access is not mandatory, as administrators can still control which users or groups can use the Gemini app through their admin console. This rollout applies to institutions using the free Education Fundamentals, the security-focused Standard, and the feature-rich Plus editions, making it widely available immediately.
    • Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No! It's a f-ing bomb!! This is why real rocket scientists don't base their designs on 1930's Flash Gordon comics...  
  • Recent Achievements

    • Contributor
      GravityDead went up a rank
      Contributor
    • Week One Done
      BlakeBringer earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • Week One Done
      Helen Shafer earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • First Post
      emptyother earned a badge
      First Post
    • Week One Done
      Crunchy6 earned a badge
      Week One Done
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      661
    2. 2
      ATLien_0
      269
    3. 3
      Michael Scrip
      236
    4. 4
      Steven P.
      164
    5. 5
      +FloatingFatMan
      151
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!