Free Forum Hosting?

[lin robinson]

One thing I'll add here, although it might not apply to many people.

If you think you will ever over the life of your forum engender controversy or piss people off, don't even consider free forums. Install your own.

The reason for this is that a free provider has no contract with you. You mean nothing to them except one more number on their stats.

If anytyhing comes up like somebody threatening to sue, they will ditch you in a second because the threat of action is real, whereas you are nobody.

Your site host has a relationship with you. If you are really over the line, they might urge you to cool it, but they can't just dump your forum or site if anything weird happens.

Bravenet is famous for deleting posts or even cancelling forums if they violate their strict Christian ethic. So the first email they get from some Jehu saying you're the antichrist and you could suddenly have all your members wondering where you went.

This is not abstract stuff. It has happened to me: two free forums and two free websites dumped because of pressure from local dickheads trying to defend their turf.

So if you are EVER going to have anything sensitive...and in a community forum, who knows...don't go to free providers. You have no security there.

Furthermore, what if they go down? If your host goes down (also happened to me twice, I have a knack for hosting on the Enron's of the Internet) then you just move to another host. Pain in the ass, but you're back. And your forum will be back at the same click and bookmark. Because it's on your domain directory.

If one of these freebies goes down, your address goes with it.

[lin robinson]

Having your own domain hosted costs under a hundred dollars a year.

If your host doesn't have pre-installed forums...which many do and you will know that as you shop for a host... there are plenty of free progams you can install to do the job.