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[Bauglir]

So, I'm looking to start a forum to host a game I want to run. Since I plan on (ab)using the medium to help tell the story, I kind of need admin privileges and all that, so I can't just go ask somebody if I can have a sub board or something. The problem is, I have no idea what the hell I'm doing.

So, does anybody here know:
A good place to host a forum?
Useful software for actually producing a forum?
Tutorials or other instructions that will help me learn how to use the aforementioned software?
For a minimum investment (preferably free)?

[Lectorog]

Have you looked into Simple Machines? It's free, easy, and useful. This forum is SMF, by the way.
From what I gather, you can set up a basic forum with very little effort and knowledge, and make a decent-looking one with just a bit more.

Simple Machines Forum — SMF in short — is a free, professional grade software package that allows you to set up your own online community within minutes.

Its powerful custom made template engine puts you in full control of the layout of your message board and with our unique SSI - or Server Side Includes - function you can let your forum and your website interact with each other.

SMF is written in the popular language PHP and uses a MySQL database. It is designed to provide you with all the features you need from a bulletin board while having an absolute minimal impact on the resources of the server. SMF is the next generation of forum software - and best of all it is and will always remain completely free!

[Bauglir]

I have, and I think it would be helpful, if I knew where I could host a forum and all that, since it seems like a necessary prerequisite and I'm not sure how I would run software like that on any of the free forum hosting sites I've found so far, none of which I'm quite sure on yet (part of the reason I'm asking for advice is because I don't know what's reputable or not, either).

I guess a large part of the problem is that everything I've started looking into is dense with jargon I've little to no familiarity with, having never maintained any kind of server or website. I'd be happy to learn, but again, I have no idea where to begin.

[lordcooper]

http://www.forum-motion.net/ is a pretty good place to create and host forums for free.  I've used it in the past for hosting D&D style games and nomics and never had any problems.  It's pretty damn simple to use too, but if you have any problems then I'd be willing be set it all up for a copy of Towns.

If that doesn't float your boat for whatever reason (maybe you want a custom domain name?) then I could set you up a forum at a lower price than most would charge (I'm open to reasonable offers.)  Bear in mind that you would need to pay a yearly fee for a custom domain name (generally ~£10, but it's possible to get some domain names for a lot less).

[Bauglir]

That looks pretty helpful! Thanks. I'll look around that site when I have a bit more time, and return to this thread if it turns out I need some more help. Really appreciate it.