Q

How to Make an nternet Forum v2

Laugh 2010
Copyrighted on November 27
th
2010
This is version 2 oI the eBook. II you need any assistance e-mail me at
tehlaughingman7gmail.com or message 'Laugh on aim.
Thank you Ior buying my eBook on creating an internet Iorum.
HopeIully you beneIit greatly Irom this guide and start a successIul
Iorum. II you have any questions Ieel Iree to ask me, Teh Laughing Man,
Ior assistance and I will be glad to help. Also, iI you bought this guide
because you knew nothing and wanted to start, begin Irom the start. II
you already have the Iorum made and need tips to make it look nice and
advertise, start Irom IV. Forum Customization.
Enjoy, I spent a lot oI time on this!

Table of Contents
. ntroduction of Myself
. Warnings and Expectations
. 8tarting the Forum
V. Forum Customization
V. Forum Categories
V. Finishing the Board/Release
V. Final Notes

. ntroduction of Myself
Hey everyone, my name is Peter and have run a couple successIul
Iorums in my time. I am Iourteen years old. I wrote this guide to reach
out to the people who want to make a Iorum, but do not know where to
start and to the people who make Iorums but can never get them started
properly.
Well, what is a Iorum? As I`m 90 sure you know, a Iorum is a
message board where users Irom around the world can sign-up and post
messages to the board. It`s a very useIul tool to meet new people, make
proIit and beneIit you in many other ways.
There are many diIIerent Iorum soItwares, as in many diIIerent people
who make the soItware Ior a Iorum. There is Mybb, vBulletin, Simple
Machine Forums, Invision Power Boards, Phpbb3, and a Iew other
underground companies make them, too. This guide is based around

Mybb because it is the best in my opinion. It has all the Ieatures the
others do, but best oI all it is Iree.
. Warnings and Expectations
This is not a walk through the park by the way. There is a lot oI eIIort
going into a successIul Iorum, but the end result is so great. You will
need to invest time, money, eIIort, stress and sanity to make a Iorum.
The Iamous quote 'you get what you put in, comes into play. II you
don`t try, you don`t get any results.
Now you need to create an idea. Whether you`re making a whole idea
Irom scratch or you had your idea prior to the purchase oI this guide.
Think oI something that isn`t overused, like xbox 360 Iorums. At the
same time, don`t think oI something that is dead or unattractive like a
Iorum based on how maggots turn into Ilies. 'Make sure it`s alive, but
not super healthy. But make sure it`s in good shape and not dead.

Now what type oI audience attracts your idea? For example iI the Iorum
is about gaming, I suggest a younger audience. II you go on a Iorum
with adults and try advertising a gaming Iorum you will not get very Iar.
However, iI you advertise on other gaming sites in respectable way you
will.
Another common mistake I see is how the admin acts. The title 'The
Owner should be used with pride. You must use proper grammar,
respect your members, be nice, etc. You`re representing YOUR Iorum or
company so do it in a respectable way.
Passwords, iI you`re making a Iorum make sure you password is secure.
II your password is apple` or rabbits` you Iorum will not last long.
People these days will do anything to Ieel cool, including hack your
Iorum. Don`t be scared, it doesn`t happen oIten but you will make
enemies in this business. Make sure to have a secure password.

In the end, expect some respect, proIit, and a lot oI new e-buddies.
. 8tarting the Forum
A. You Need To Pay
Now you have your idea, and general knowledge oI Iorums. How do you
Iund this project? A paypal account or credit card is suitable. On my Iirst
Iorum someone payed Ior my domain and hosting, but decided to make a
paypal account Ior myselI so I could make more Iorums. It was a good
and mandatory choice. Chances are iI you have this guide, you have a
payment method.
B. Domain Names
You will need a domain name. What is it? Google.com, Yahoo.com,
Bing.com, etc. That is a domain name; and you need one. I heavily
suggest http://www.moniker.com. They are cheap (in a good way), and

the domains are very easy to manage. Do not go with big names like Go
daddy as they are corrupt and you`ll end up losing than gaining.
You will also want a nice domain name/Iorum name. Pick it now, start
brainstorming. II you`re attracting a dark gaming audience, try
something like Grim Gaming. That was one oI my Iorums by the way. II
you`re attracting a nice bmx(bike) Iorum you can try angelbmx.com.
Those are just some examples.
C. Hosting
Now you need hosting. Once again, no big names and never buy a host
and a domain Irom the same company. There is always a chance you
need to move hosts and iI they are linked you are stuck. I suggest
santrex.net, mediatemple.net, ipage.org, and hosting24.com.
D. Linking Domain and Host
'Okay, I have a domain and hosting.what the hell do I do now?! I`m
glad you asked. You`ll need to link the two together. When you signed-
up Ior hosting you probably got a welcome e-mail(iI not check your

spam). There is a thing called name servers which links your domain to
your host. Once you Iind your name servers Ior your host, add it to the
domain. Here`s how iI you picked Moniker:
Click 'My Domains
Checkmark the domain you want to edit the Nameservers on

Click DNS on the leIt

Now you can edit your nameservers. Depending on the host, it will take
12-48 hours to resolve. Once it does, you can go to your domain and
your website will be there.
E. File Transfer Protocol

You have another question? 'How do I put Iiles onto my website?

Three letters..FTP. File TransIer Protocol is how. This lets you
upload Iiles to your server through a third party client. I suggest Filezilla:
http://Iilezilla-project.org/
AIter you have that downloaded and installed check back to that
welcome e-mail I talked about earlier. You will Iind your FTP login
inIormation. Use it appropriately to login on Filezilla.

F. Forum 8oftware
Now you need to pick your Iorum soItware. I highly recommend MyBB
because 75 oI this guide is based on it. You can download it at
http://www.mybb.com or by visiting on this link:
http://www.mybb.com/download/latest
Once you have the Iiles extracted (using WinRar) you will need to
upload them to FTP. Read this guide I wrote earlier this year on FTP.
It`s pretty short and a direct copy/paste on a Iorum I posted it on:
http://tinypaste.com/80dffa
Password: makeaforum
HopeIully you know how to use Filezilla now, iI not Iind a Iolder called
publichtml. Delete it. Now go to the MyBB Iiles you extracted and
rename the
Iolder to publichtml. Upload it to the main directory. Your Iorum is
now ready to be installed (the upload should take around 5-10 minutes).

Go to this URL:
http://www.YOURDOMAIN.COM/install
replacing YOURDOMAIN.COM with your domain.
Follow the steps to install your board. II you need help on that Ieel Iree
to ask. Here is a STEP-BY-STEP tutorial on setting up your databases
Ior your Iorum:
http://www.supportIorums.net/showthread.php?tid6673
Created by MasterZuIu
AIter that, your Iorum is now installed! Woo. Onto the next section.
V. Forum Customization
A. Themes
Now that your Iorum has been created you will need to customize it Ior
obvious reasons. Let`s begin with a theme. You can Iind some oI
MyBB`s Iree themes here:

http://mods.mybb.com/themes
http://www.awesomestyles.com/mybb-themes
Free is great, but iI you really want to show oII you can get some paid
themes at these websites. Please note I am not an aIIiliate oI any oI these
companies.
http://www.mybbcentral.com/
http://zynge.net/
Now you need to install the theme. To save both oI us time, you can Iind
a working and eIIicient guide here:
http://www.awesomestyles.com/blog/how-to-install-a-mybb-theme.html
II you need help installing a theme just ask me Ior help.
B. Banners/magesets

Next thing you need to do Ior customization is upload a custom banner

and imageset. A banner is the thing you see at the top oI a page that
represents your board. For example this is Google`s banner:
You can make your own banner or pay someone to make one. I have
little Photoshop experience so I usually make a text one or pay someone
around $8 Ior a nice looking, proIessional banner. II you ever catch
someone named 'plant on aim ask him to make you one.
AIter you have your banner, you need to upload it. Upload the logo via
Itp. AIterwards go to admincp -~ themes -~ edit the current theme/Iorum
logo and set the path oI your new logo and save. Now you have a banner!

Next thing is imagesets, as in usertitles, new posts, old posts, etc. I

suggest paying someone to make these as well. Simply request them to
make an Admin usertitle, super moderator usertitle, VIP usertitle, and
member user title. You can also request them to make new/old post
buttons. For example, on hackIorums.net this is an old post:
And this is a new post:
As you can see it shows the diIIerence iI there are any new posts in that
section.
C. Forum Title
Your Iorum title can be edited in ConIiguration -~ Forum Name Options.
This is the Iirst thing I recommend changing beIore we customize
everything. Start oII with

your Iorum name and a hyphen. Then a description or slogan oI the

board. So iI I have Angel BMX my title may be:
~Angel BMX - Where Angels Ride
This is your slogan and an attractive title. Keep in my mind Google will
search Ior your Iorum so you need to make it 'Google-Iriendly. I`ll get
into that later.
D. Changing all Forum 8ettings
Here is where the Iun begins. Head over to ConIiguration in the ACP.
You should see this.

This may take 30-45 minutes, but go through ALL oI those categories.
For example, conIiguration, Iorum home options, reputation, etc. This is
partly how you make your Iorum unique. Change all the settings to your
liking, but keep your Iuture members in mind. Think like 'what would
you want to see on a Iorum people agree with.

AIter you`re done with that, take a second look at Reputation. Make sure
it is enabled. We`ll change those settings later.
E. Plugins
Plugins are an amazing Ieature made by MyBB. They are like add-ons to
your Iorum.
Here are some Iree add-ons:
http://mods.mybb.com/mods
Paid add-ons:
http://www.mybbcentral.com/Iorum-38.html
http://www.mybbcentral.com/Iorum-27.html
I recommend checking both oI them out as plugins are nearly required
Ior a successIul board. This is a timely process, but will be worth it in
the end. AIter you download all the plugins you need upload them to
FTP. Go to

publichtml/inc/plugins and place them there. Now go to the Plugins

section in your Admin Control Panel and activate them all. You should
have 10 plugins.
AIter activation be sure to customize them in the Control Panel, too.
F. Usergroups/Usertitles
These are the groups Ior your Iorum. By deIault you have:
Administrator(you)
Super Moderator(same as an admin but no access to the control panel)
Moderator(moderates a certain section)
Member(a normal member)
Banned
Never touch the 'Moderator group and never use it. You will not need
it.
Add another group called ViP. This is Ior your paid subscriptions.
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Okay, now you have all your groups. What now? Customize them! Click
each one and modiIy the options. Just like in Iorum conIiguration. AIter
your done go back into reputation on all oI them. Give admins inIinite
rep, super moderators 10, vip 2, and members 1. Make sure VIP`s have
more privileges than members as it`ll be a paid usergroup.
Want more extras to your Iorum? Make your usernames glow! It will
look similar to this:
Here is the code:
<span styIe="coIor: #1EFF00; text-shadow: 1.5px 1.5px 20px
#1EFF00;"><strong>{username}</strong></span>
Just go into the usergroup and click edit and where you edit the color oI
the username put that in. Customize it to your liking, I suggest only
making moderators and admins name`s glow.
G. Hiding Your 8tats
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People do not want to join a Iorum with 0 posts and 0 members with no
one online. So what do you do? Cheat! First oII disable the memberlist,
which can be done in the ACP. Secondly go to this Iile in FTP:
/public_html/inc/languages/English/index.lang.php
Now press control I and Iind this:
$l|'onlinenote'| "1} 2} active in the past 3} minutes (4} 5}, 6}
oI whom 7} invisible, and 8} 9}).";
Change that to
$l|'onlinenote'| "1} 2} active in the past 15 minutes (4} 5}, 6}
oI whom 7} invisible, and 8} 9}).";
Now go into your admin control panel and go to conIiguration. Near the
bottom you`ll see 'who is online settings. Go there and change the last
online time to 1400 minutes. Now it`ll show the people who visited your
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Iorum in the last 1400 minutes, but people will think it`s the last 15
minutes!
H. Favicon
A Iavicon is a very neat part oI a Iorum or website. A Iavicon is the little
16x16 pixel image that appears in the tab or on a bookmark. This is a
very simple, yet eIIective way to create and install a Iavicon:
http://www.hypergurl.com/favicon.html
V. Forum Categories
A. Making the Categories
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This is the structure oI your Iorums. Please understand the deIinitions. A
category is the main section. A Iorum is under a category. A subIorum is
under a Iorum. For example:
Category - The Welcome Desk
Forum Announcements
Forum Suggestions
Forum Introductions
SubIorum to Introductions Goodbyes
Category - General
Forum General Discussion
Forum Gaming
I hope you get the point. I`m going to tell you the Iorum structure that I
use. Why? Because you bought my guide.
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Category - The Welcome Desk
Forum OIIicial News & Announcements
Description This is where all oI your updates will be posted. II there is
a new thread here be sure to read it.
Forum Feedback & Suggestions
Description Have a comment? Need some help? Be sure to ask here.
Forum Introductions & Goodbyes
Description II you`re a new member be sure to introduce yourselI here.
And iI you`re leaving on vacation or Ior good post here about it as well.
Category - Whatever Your Forum is About
This area I cannot help you on. I cannot predict what your Iorum is
about so you must do it yourselI. I suggest making them in this order
though:
Whatever your Iorum is about general discussion
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Whatever your Iorum is about (something speciIic)
Whatever your Iorum is about (something speciIic again)
Category - General
Forum General Discussion
Description - Anything that doesn`t belong anywhere else goes here.
Forum Video/Youtube Discussion
Description Post your videos or things you Iind on youtube here.
Forum Computer Tech Talk & Assistance
Description Talk about computers or post Ior help on yours here.
Forum Marketplace
Description Buy/sell/trade your goods here. Be sure to Iollow all rules.
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Category - ViP Hotspot(this is where the private vip forums will be
for members who pay for it. Make sure to set the permissions
correctly)
Forum ViP General Discussion
Forum ViP Downloads
Category - Staff Area(set the permissions so it is private)
That is all you need to start oII. Eventually people will suggest more or
you`ll realize there is more to implement. Only time will tell.
A. Posting in the Categories/Permissions
You don`t want empty categories do ya? Nope! Start Posting by yourselI.
Post up rules and guidelines, start some discussions, and post an
introduction. I also suggest making multiple accounts and posting as a
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diIIerent person so when you launch your board it looks like it is doing
good. That`s a very useIul tip, and I hope you use it.
I also suggest taking a second look at the permissions. Make sure
members can see the boards and all the permissions are set properly.
Should Guests Be Able to see The Board?
That`s a big issue I have noticed. The answer is YES! OI course they
should. You just make sure they cannot post, see the marketplace, vip
hotspot, or the staII section. I suggest signing out and seeing iI the guests
can see the proper boards, too.
V. Finishing the Board/Release
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A. Private Opinions
Ask some people you know Ior opinions. Some good questions are:
What was your first impression?
Would you sign-up?
Does it look professional?
What should I change?
AIter you get around Iive opinions go back and change them.
B. Advertising
The big 'a word. Advertising. There are many methods and I will start
with the most reliable; mouth-to-mouth. I highly suggest being an active
member oI a Iorum similar to yours, but is much bigger. For example iI I
made a xbox modding Iorum I`d become active on se7ensins.com as it is
the biggest modding Iorum. I would not spam my links, but I would
become an appreciated and respected member. You can then seamlessly
put your banner in your signature with a link and make Iriends on their
and tell them.
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Another good idea is instant messaging. Most messengers like aim,
skype, and msn have statuses and mass-messages. I have around 1,200
aim buddies so I can make a status and people will visit the link. I
suggest you start building that as well. Here is a buddy list Ior aim I
compiled Ior this reason. Most oI them are gamers:
http://www.megaupload.com/?d6ZHHJP74
You can import that into your buddy list and start advertising their as
well. Give them a reason to join. Make people say 'yeah im a member
because blah blah blah. That will give you an edge on your competitors.
You may also want to look into aIIiliation. Find Iorums slightly larger or
smaller than your own and oIIer an aIIiliation. Even though it won`t help
much it`ll get your name out there and you may get some more
members iI the other owner makes a post on their Iorum.
C. 8earch Engine Optimization
BeIore we begin read/skim through this:
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Searchengineoptimization
and download this:
http://www.megaupload.com/?dY2F29MMF
Basically search engine optimization(seo) is how you get on the
top oI Google searches. II you type 'xbox modding wouldn`t you like
to be at the top? OI course. So this section is a plus. First step, go to
google.com/addurl and submit your url to the database. This is a good
Iirst step and I enjoy using it. Include relevant tags to whatever your
board is about.
Here are some MyBB Plugins and Mods to make your Forum as SEO
Iriendly as it can be:
Meta Tags Plugin - http://www.mybbcentral.com/thread-1657.html
Google SEO Plugin - http://community.mybb.com/thread-46423.html
And now Ior the kicker. Go to your ACP and navigate here:
Templates & Style Templates Theme Name Forum Bit
Templates forumbit_depth2_forum
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Find:
<div><strong><a hrefSforum_url]>Sforumname`]]</a>
and replace it with:
<div><strong><a href"Sforum_url]"
title"Sforum'name']]">Sforum'name']]</a>
Why? When you hover over a Iorum name, by deIault on MyBB,
nothing comes up as there are no title tags. But iI you do what I said
above, each Iorum category will be DRAMATICALLY indexed by
google.
D. 8etup Donations
I suggest installing this to handle donations:
http://www.mybbcentral.com/thread-1613.html
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It automatically accepts payments in a Iorm oI a subscription and places
the user in the ViP usergroup, or whichever one you choose. It can be
diIIicult to setup so iI you need help let me know. The instructions are
already in there, though. This is mainly where your proIit will come
Irom. Ads are ugly and you will not earn much so that`s why you set this
up. II you`re respectable and run a nice Iorum people WILL donate. Just
give them a reason to.
E. How to Promote Moderators
Do NOT oI StaII promotion:
'Promoting your Iriends
Promoting someone because they donated
Promoting new, seemingly helpIul and experienced users
Promoting seemingly illiterate retards (read below)
Now let me elaborate. II you want your website to go somewhere, and
not just be a hang-out Ior a group oI Iriends, you cannot promote your
Iriends. It'll look bad. You need your staII to look top-oI-the-line elite.
Another thing I see is someone getting promoted because they donated
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to the website. II I donated $20.00 here should I get a moderator position?
Absolutely not. This is especially true Ior small Iorums because they are
so grateIul Ior a donation.
You also need to watch out Ior social engineering attempts. II you
promote new users, and have you have people who do not like you, you
have a problem. I'm not going to lie, I've S.E'd many small Iorums by
PMing the admin with my experience. I'd oIten get promoted within a
day or two oI posting nicely and then I take it down. You need to watch
out Ior this. You also need to see who is dedicated to the website, and
not just on there Ior a week hoping Ior staII.
I've seen some Iorums, where the owner promoted someone who sounds
like a retard when they type. Everyone has heard oI one oI those kinds oI
people. they r always typing lyke this with no grammer nd spellig
mistakes. Do not promote those people, though iI anyone even registered
here I'm sure that's common knowledge. For those who have someone
like that on their Iorums, just get rid oI him. Open up a debate topic and
you'll realize he looks like an idiot.
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V. Final Notes
II you made it this Iar, congratulations. Your Iorum should look nice,
have a Iew members(you), have custom imagesets, a custom banner, a
donation page, etc. Just keep going, iI you really did Iollow this step-by-
step and you dedicate even more time than you already have into this
Iorum you will succeed. I wish you the best oI luck. Just do not rush the
process, it takes time. Results are not immediate.
Once again, iI you need ANY help just leIt me know. Teh Laughing
Man oI HF and Peter oI New Jersey wrote this guide and I hope you do
not steal or reproduce it without my permission. Unlike many guides I
actually did write this. From experience, I made an outline and Irom an
outline I made this eBook. I even spent money buying the soItware to
make a .pdI Iile so I really hope you enjoy this guide.
Cya.