Recommendations for Forum sites to host RPG

If you're desperate I guess Jcink is what you might use. If you're professional about what you do and don't mind paying for a server, SMF is the best.

 

What about PhPBB? Or am I missing something here?

 

I started out with them eight years ago and yes it is a good stable platform for free hosting. I think in the main though unless they have changed since my time with them, they lack many of the features RPers look for in a host. They were the originals though and most Forum platforms are based off phpBB

 

The site I'm from is PhpBB and I think we're pretty up to date in terms of functionality - but we pay for hosting and have dedicated tech support, so I guess that makes a difference. I have to be honest - I've never really considered whether the type of host makes a difference. It's interesting isn't it? It makes sense though - we all have our favourites. And things we don't like, too!

 

Jcink is a nice forum as well. You can also use premium features (by purchase) if you want to add extra benefits. Many RP sites are Jcink based because of the customization, Mods available, and reasonable user-friendliness

 

I've always used Proboards for forums, its easy, free and there is so much help and support.

 

I personally like jcink... in that it's easy to get everything coded out and it's uniform. and it's a lot cheaper than other sites to do premium content. I've really been able to get into personalizing the forums with the most recent one I've built and adding things that normal jcink sites don't have through javascript... so it's actually fairly unique. And I continuously play with it and add new features that will be beneficial to members without being confusing to operate.

 

I really like jcink too. It is very customizable and there can be a lot of variety on just a default skin.

 

I tend to prefer the straight-forward look of self hosted or PhpBB sites. Jcink can vary depending on who is utilizing the site. I've seen some gorgeous sites and some cluttered-looking ones, so it all just depends.

 

I definitely vote for self-hosted-I've tried a number of free hosts over the years but never quite felt safe to pursue a 333 rating (meaning, "I can write whatever I want and not get shut down for violating the TOS"-for example you have to pay for a premium account on jcink to be able to write smut, which is absolutely ridiculous-we're all adults, here). As for software, I recommend phpBB or Nova, the reason being they're easy to learn, they're jam-packed with features, they're free, and best of all they're not computer-intensive so people with older machines (such as myself) don't struggle to post on them.

 

@Yona Carlin You make a lot of good points, and what you described is precisely why I prefer self-hosted. When you're utilizing hosting services from an outside source, you have to abide by the rules they set. Self-hosted, you're free to do virtually whatever you like.

I wasn't aware of the premium requirement for jcink sites, but since I've never been fond of them I admittedly haven't looked into them all that much. That sounds like a bit of a bummer if you want to maintain a site that allows its users to write almost anything. Though, if you're not big on the smut-front, I suppose it wouldn't be too bad!

 

Absolutely. It's a real shame because jcink is actually a very cool resource. It's super easy to use, the sub-accounts feature is the best I've ever encountered and the default skin isn't intensive at all. Sadly I've never felt safe using their software because even though I'm not that dedicated to smut, I don't want to worry about whether or not I use the F-word one too many times is my database going to get wiped out and all my members will lose their work, ya know? Freedom is very important to me and you just can't beat self-hosted for that.

 

I would suggest proboards too. I've used vbulletin and Enjin (which has a nice little mobile app but otherwise is dated in comparison).

 

i use proboards and it's been fine so far. i've heard that people like jcink more. i've also heard that certain communities gravitate more towards certain forum hosts? like, proboards has more of an anime audience and jcink is more RL-based, but i'm not sure how true those statements are.