Is this forum installable by a charity?

Meta
1

I love this forum software, and I assume that the OGS developers created it themselves. Is it standalone and available for me to use as a support forum on my own server for a charity?

2

This forum is powered by Discourse which is 100% open source.

5 Likes
3

And the award for fleetest fingers goes to @opuss

4 Likes
4

Thanks so much, fleet-fingers!

1 Like
6

it’s $100/mo?! I don’t think we are paying that to use it.

EDIT:

The software is free, the hosting might not be. You are free to host it on your own server though.

Note: Jeff Atwood (the first response to the question) is one of the founders of Discourse.

1 Like
7

Oh, wait, I see… it is free if you install it on your own server, since it is Open Software. It only costs if you use their server. https://payments.discourse.org/pricing

2 Likes
8

I’ve been reading about Discourse. It uses four or five technologies not normally installed on a Linux server and it requires root access (they say it will never work with shared hosting). Installing it looks like it would take a day of flat-out work, and I’d probably need help whenever errors happen. It can be installed by them for about $100 once only (for a nonprofit), but I’m not comfortable with all the exotic technology–what if I have to migrate to another host server? I guess I’ll go with phpBB for my tiny forum. At least it probably fits in one directory and just works. Thanks, all.

1 Like
9

Indeed @david265, if you are not well-versed in computers, server administration, etc. you are best served by something simple such as phpBB. Good luck! :hugs:

– Musash1

1 Like
10

Musash1, Thank you so much. I had looked into this once before, and had problems because their installation instructions required problem-solving and forward references. But I gave it another shot, and after one false start and one problem connecting to a MySQL database (which required the nonobvious edits listed below), I was successful in setting up MyBB on my own server. It works perfectly and looks almost as good as Discourse.

MySQL enable:
WHM > ConfigServer Security & Firewall > Firewall Configuration > IPv4 Port Settings >
TCP_IN and TCP_OUT > add 3306 to list
Comment out skip-networking in the MySQL config file /etc/my.cnf

1 Like
11

@david265 I am pleased to hear that you have set up your MyBB successfully and are happy with the result! But no need to thank me – I really didn’t do anything! You did it all :sunglasses:

Regards,

– Musash1

2 Likes