HI,
Whilst I agree that a web-based forum is better (we can provide a one-
stop shop for all members - n00bs, experts, PLUG members), the cost
of maintaining it might be the issue.
vBulletin is far better than the free phpBB - no question about that.
While it may be easier to find a sponsor to host it, I recommend that
we just let the sponsor pay for the annual fee (just to get all the
upgrades) or the one-time fee (no upgrade) and find another sponsor
for the hosting. I prefer having an ad-free forum. We can always ask
people to donate US$1 each towards the annual costs of maintaining
the hosting and forum subscription.
Cheers!
PS. I just do not want someone to have a notion that some individual
is earning out of the forum via ads. :)
On Dec 5, 2006, at 10:23 AM, Federico Sevilla III wrote:
Fellow PLUGgers,
On the PLUG-Board mailing list, I've sent out a request for
comments on
a proposal to migrate from the current mailing list setup, to a
web-based bulletin board system. What does the community think
about us
setting up a web-based bulletin board system to replace the current
mix
of mailing lists?
Mailing lists vs. bulletin boards are a contentious topic. The
strongest
pros of staying with the mailing list system are that it's the status
quo, is relatively secure to set up and maintain, and is free.
However, it's clearly not working in as far as our efforts to keep
discussions in check is concerned. Many people get turned off by the
traffic, and simply shy away. The job postings on the main list are
also
an issue.
We might have better luck maintaining forums using a web-based
bulletin
board system. Of course it's perfectly possible that we won't have
better luck and that this will be a waste of time and money.
Another concern going forward is that I've been hardpressed to find a
F/OSS bulletin board system that's user-friendly, actively-maintained,
and without a history riddled with security holes.
vBulletin (built on PHP and MySQL) seems to be a pretty solid and
well-supported web-based bulletin board system. It is not free, but is
affordable at US$85/year. I'm willing to host this service and pay for
the license in exchange for strategically-placed Google ads. Would
using
non-free software and an ad-supported service be an issue for a
community advocating F/OSS software?
The decision will ultimately come from the board, but I'm sending this
out to get a feel of the community's sentiments.
Cheers!
--
Federico Sevilla III
F S 3 Consulting Inc.
http://www.fs3.ph
_________________________________________________
Philippine Linux Users' Group (PLUG) Mailing List
[email protected] (#PLUG @ irc.free.net.ph)
Read the Guidelines: http://linux.org.ph/lists
Searchable Archives: http://archives.free.net.ph
_________________________________________________
Philippine Linux Users' Group (PLUG) Mailing List
[email protected] (#PLUG @ irc.free.net.ph)
Read the Guidelines: http://linux.org.ph/lists
Searchable Archives: http://archives.free.net.ph
