This is probably not the right place but I was wondering if anyone could point me to a good bulletin board script that is secure. I do not mind paying for it if it is reasonably priced but it has to do the following. I want it to only allow registered users to post and reply to messages, any help is appreciated.

I know of some, and use one. You need to decide on what type of board you want, also. They fall mostly into two categories, threaded or linear (aka non-threaded). UBB and similar types are linear, whereas boards like wwwboard are threaded.

I have information on my site about the differences between the two (right side menu), as well as some links to sites that have most of them listed. You can also follow the link at the bottom of my forum to the site of the program I use and see if it suits you. They have a free, downloadable version, which I believe lacks registration features. You can try it and if you like it, upgrade to a licensed version.

My server site is at http://techcellence.net

Thank You for your help, I am a web host and I am donating my services to a religious organization and also designed their page. We had a simple board up but outsiders kept posting smut and inappropriate language, this board is for kids at a camp. so free would be best. But I did not think I could get a decent one for free, I will take a look at the link you sent me and go from there. Once again Thank You for the help.

You'd be surprised what you can get for free. A lot of good, commercially supported programs have free versions. In many cases, you don't get all the features of the licensed version, but it can be enough for some, and a good way to see if the program is suitable before upgrading, for others.

Be sure to read the page on Building an online community with discussion forum programs. There are things you can do that are greater deterrents to problem posts than using technological means alone. Registration and validation features were added to the program I use upon my request, but we've never needed to implement them on a mandatory basis, and they were effective when we used a program that lacked any protection features at all.

[This message has been edited by Duster (edited 07-01-2000).]

Hi,
I think you might want to ckeck out http://www.bigtalker.com they offer script that is just like this ubb and a lot more features for free. It even has spell checking capabilities and censor option.

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Sincerely,
Vlad Gil

See my informational website on the subject: http://www.forumhosts.com

I would like to thank everyone for your help, I am new to these script nightmares but am getting the hang of it now. Thank You all for your time and help.

Deb, your site is missing one of the best, Board Power. Download it for free at:

www.thewebmasterforums.com (http://www.thewebmasterforums.com)

Vlad suggested bigtalker.com 's board, and just so no one gets confused, it is available at www.thewebmasterforums.com (http://www.thewebmasterforums.com)

same thing

BigTalker is now BoardPower, and I have removed it from my Forumhosts website because it fails too many of my "before you even bother to download it" tests. I especially object to the harvesting of e-mail addresses before the program can be downloaded.

Even free stuff sometimes has its price :)

I suggest the Discus Discussion Board, which can be found at:
http://www.discusware.com/discus/

It is one of the most advanced board systems I have seen, has great support, has a free version that has most of the features you would ever need, and a Pro version that is great for secure boards and more.

They have recommended hosts that fully support the board, and the installation is the easiest I have seen to date. If you can't tell, I have been extremely pleased with this software.

- John Crowley

Has anyone used Boardmaster published by Beholder Net? I like the look and feel (similar to ubb) and the price (free) but I haven't seen many reviews of it positive or negative.

Just to let everyone that helped out know I went with Ultraboard 1.62, it is nice and has all of the features I was looking for. And it is a piece of cake to get up and running, you have to deviate from the directions a bit when it comes to the images but it would be great for rookies. I could not believe it was free it is a very nice board, here is the link if anyone is interested http://www.ub2k.com/.