I'm looking for a free host for message boards. I can't host one on my current provider as that would double my monthly cost, and subject me to censorship (I live in China). What I'm looking for:

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Security. No phpBB for me.
Unobtrusive ads. Google ads everywhere are OK, but pop-ups and animated .GIFs and flash are definitely out.
Must be free.
Decent admin interface, with ability to ban by IP, and preferably, ranges of IPs. Keyword block would be nice - my site will be general talk about a city, its attractions, want ads, that sort of thing. I don't want political flamewars, especially considering my location.
Statistics would be nice as well, such as an analyzable logfile, but not required.
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I've done my google searches, and searched this forum, and most of the talk seems to be about hosting your own forum. Is ProBoards.com a "can't-miss" solution?

check freewht.com


I've heard, that if you get access to backup the forum database, you can move the forum and change hosts

http://ezforums.org/

BUt thats based on phpbb to i guess. The interface is good, you can ban people, there are statistics..everything that comes with phpbb

There are absolutely NO ads.

phpBB is out, because it's terribly vulnerable. I don't want to wake up one morning, and find "hacked by Pakistan" or porn spams all over my message board. With phpBB, your only defense is "security by obscurity", which is no defense at all.

Okay then spend $100 and get vbulletin, its worth it. You might wanna check out wowbb.com but there are no skins available for that

Originally posted by drencrom
phpBB is out, because it's terribly vulnerable. I don't want to wake up one morning, and find "hacked by Pakistan" or porn spams all over my message board. With phpBB, your only defense is "security by obscurity", which is no defense at all.

Not true at all...

If you want to just host a site and leave it be, never update it and do not care about it... then it is gonna get hacked...

PHPBB is far the most secured forum I ever used, I am running many sites with it and no one could've hacked it... why... because I keep it updated and secured myself...

Now listen, you are asking for a free forum.. don't expect someone to give you a golden site on a platter for free. spend some money if you care enough...

Peace,

www.proboards.com

Probably easiest.
I've been with them since 2001, but I don't use their forum service anymore. It's alright...easily customizable. Easy to understand and comprehend things.

I'm not sure if it meets all your criteria but InvisionFree.com (http://invisionfree.com/) offers free forum hosting.

Hope that helps :)

Originally posted by azizny
Not true at all...

If you want to just host a site and leave it be, never update it and do not care about it... then it is gonna get hacked...

I will not be hosting the forum myself. So, I can't apply updates.


PHPBB is far the most secured forum I ever used, I am running many sites with it and no one could've hacked it... why... because I keep it updated and secured myself...

Now listen, you are asking for a free forum.. don't expect someone to give you a golden site on a platter for free. spend some money if you care enough...[/B]

There are a million free hosting services out there that make money by advertising. I'm just looking for the "best" one.

Originally posted by EVILISCIOUS
You might wanna check out wowbb.com but there are no skins available for that

Actually, there have been some "themes" that have been released recently for WowBB. They've been posted on the main forum for download. There is a community growing around WowBB.

As for a free forum host, I know of quite a few, but I have not used any of their services. I've always hosted my own.

Originally posted by EVILISCIOUS
Okay then spend $100 and get vbulletin.

I am sorry, but he has it in one right on the head. If you need security, then pay for it.

Actually, there have been some "themes" that have been released recently for WowBB. They've been posted on the main forum for download. There is a community growing around WowBB.

I've used wowbb myself for a period of 5 months, it was awesome. But there were no "themes" for it. I had to customize the colors, such as background color, text color etc through their admin panel interface. Another irritating part of wowbb is that some of the code is encrypted, I can't modify it directly. Ture there is a community growing around it..I personally think its better than vbulletin. But today I'll choose vbulletin because of how popular it is, more fixes, lots of themes & support.

Originally posted by Bazza The Greek
I am sorry, but he has it in one right on the head. If you need security, then pay for it.

Jeez, is anyone reading this? The thread is about a free, remotely hosted solution. Even if I decided to pay for one, I WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO HOST IT MYSELF.

I give up.

Originally posted by drencrom
Jeez, is anyone reading this? The thread is about a free, remotely hosted solution. Even if I decided to pay for one, I WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO HOST IT MYSELF.

I give up.

And why would you not be able to host it yourself ?

He probably doesnt have hosting. Well drecrom, go with wowbb, they host it for you free for a month then $10/Month.

Originally posted by EVILISCIOUS
He probably doesnt have hosting. Well drecrom, go with wowbb, they host it for you free for a month then $10/Month.

Well I am sorry once again, but this is a hosting forum.

If he cannot find a host on here, he should not have a site.

He wants a free host, wowbb seems to fit his needs

"there is no such thing as a good free host" - lochie

Originally posted by Bazza The Greek
And why would you not be able to host it yourself ?

Let's see...allow me to quote myself from the top of the thread:

"I can't host one on my current provider as that would double my monthly cost, and subject me to censorship (I live in China)."

There are strict rules in place to regulate internet message boards. I don't feel like running the risk of violating the law, and I certainly don't feel like dealing with the Chinese bureaucracy to get the proper permit. It's much easier just to host it overseas. Additionally, in order to run scripts, I must move to a higher class of service, which doubles my cost.

All I asked for were peoples' experiences with free hosting and some recommendations. I got one suggestion that fit the criteria. *sigh* I gave up and went with the one I suggested myself, ProBoards.com.

have not used them, but here's a link.

http://www.phpbbforfree.com/

looks like a couple free forum possibilities in this thread