Cost to Run a Forum

V

velocicaur

Registered

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Joined

Apr 29, 2002

• Sep 19, 2006

• #1

Hey,

I'm not sure what section to put this in, but the internet section sounded good. I'm thinking of putting one up (not computer related) and have no idea what I'm looking at/getting myself into.

I was wondering if someone knew how much it cost to run a forum similar to this one in setup and categories, but larger - say 120,000-200,000 members and 3-4000 logged in at any one time with peaks of 6,000 - any base estimates?

If I go with a specific server/host, can I upgrade it easily and cheaply as more members join?

Does anyone have any suggestions on hosts or places to look at to learn more about it - I'm having a hard time trying to google helpful information?

Thanks,
Matt

 

vaiopup

Member

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Joined

Nov 12, 2005

Location

England

• Sep 19, 2006

• #2

You could try reading about package costs etc at places like vbulletin.
200-000 members

Why not just start up a free forum, see how popular it is, then upgrade to a full managed package later on?

 

FeuerFrei

Member

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Joined

Jan 27, 2006

• Sep 19, 2006

• #3

Looks like a big thing for a 1st try...

You might want some pro assistance for this (As I suppose you don't want the whole thing to crap out on you...)

 

khiloa

Open Source Senior

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Joined

Jul 15, 2004

Location

/usa/sc/florence

• Sep 19, 2006

• #4

Yikes, good luck with getting that many users!

I agree with vaiopup, try starting up a smaller forum first with punBB (nice forum software IMO) and see how it goes from there.

 

manbush

Member

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Joined

Sep 11, 2006

• Sep 19, 2006

• #5

If you get yourself a domain, I can host it for free on my dedicated server with FTP access, PHP5, and latest and greatest stuff.

But 2000000K users and 4000 users at the same time? LOL. Youll need 16x XEON processors, 64 gig of ram, 5 Raid....

 

z0n3

Member

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Joined

Jul 12, 2004

Location

Hoosier Land

• Sep 19, 2006

• #6

Depends on how big your forum is. OCF must cost a ton to run but a smaller forum like OC-rev close to $50-70.

 

vaiopup

Member

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Joined

Nov 12, 2005

Location

England

• Sep 19, 2006

• #7

manbush said:

If you get yourself a domain, I can host it for free on my dedicated server with FTP access, PHP5, and latest and greatest stuff.

But 2000000K users and 4000 users at the same time? LOL. Youll need 16x XEON processors, 64 gig of ram, 5 Raid....

Click to expand...

.......and a multibuy pack from mods r us

 

khiloa

Open Source Senior

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Joined

Jul 15, 2004

Location

/usa/sc/florence

• Sep 19, 2006

• #8

A few links for some more basic forum packages to check out:

http://www.punbb.org/
http://www.phpbb.com/
http://www.yabbforum.com/

Some of those have packages you can get through them for hosting and stuff, some with pretty decent rates. (I suppose.)

 

smokie mcpott

Member

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Joined

Jul 18, 2006

Location

OKC

• Sep 19, 2006

• #9

if you have the upload bandwidth and an old PC available, run one on your own box, its simple, doesnt take a whole lot of pc to do it. then upgrade as needed

 

SeanBest

Member

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Joined

Aug 14, 2006

Location

Harrisonburg, VA

• Sep 19, 2006

• #10

Give pnpbb a try and a just find a good cheap provider with tons of bandwidth and mysql support.

 

OP

V

velocicaur

Registered

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Joined

Apr 29, 2002

• Sep 20, 2006

• Thread Starter
• #11

Thanks for the replies.

Definitely would take time to build one up from scratch. I'd start off really small then go from there. I was just wondering if I could get a ballpark/estimate for a much larger forum. I looking at a business idea and seeing if it was worthwhile to even bother/continue to think about it or to just drop it off on the curb with the rest of them.

Thanks again

 

Xtreme Barton

Member

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Joined

Jan 17, 2004

• Sep 20, 2006

• #12

drop it

 

khiloa

Open Source Senior

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Joined

Jul 15, 2004

Location

/usa/sc/florence

• Sep 20, 2006

• #13

Aye.

If you are looking to make some money, do not be depending on a running a forum. (Although it can be fun )

 

vaiopup

Member

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Joined

Nov 12, 2005

Location

England

• Sep 21, 2006

• #14

This week I started up a folding@home forum using the invisionfree service and I got a domain name (1 year) for $1.99 (Yahoo).

So I really think you should give it a shot as it can be done (initially) with minimum outlay and you can take things from there based on the success rate of your project.

PM me if you would like linky to my board, just so you can get an idea of what you can do on a free board. (don't want to post linky, advertising and all).

Hope you give it a shot, and best of luck