# Creating a Free Forum



## GreenNeedle (11 Aug 2008)

Don't worry its not anything to do with fish. lol

I am wanting to create a local forum for people to recycle their unwanteds on in my area and was wondering what was the best free one to use.

I cannot program and am after one of the easy to use ones.  I am currently playing around with GoBoardz but it doesn't let me divide my categories (in that I want to put a seperator between a few sections)

Andy


----------



## aaronnorth (11 Aug 2008)

there is phpbb  http://www.phpbb.com/

i cant say how good a forum is etc, better off with talking to the founders of UKAPS.

Good idea though


----------



## Joecoral (11 Aug 2008)

SuperColey1 said:
			
		

> I am wanting to create a local forum for people to recycle their unwanteds on in my area



Why not just use FreeCycle?


----------



## GreenNeedle (11 Aug 2008)

The reason that a few forums initially started on the recycling route was a question of ethics in that freecycle gained and still has a reputation of being somewhere where certain people would/will take the free items for resale!!!  Namely a lot of items can be seen on ebay or car boots where the aim is to recycle rather than line someone else' s pockets.

Some sites opened with the explicit intention of stopping this practice but the one in our area has suddenly decided to merge loads of areas together and even though there is quite a lot of disharmony on there the 'directors' as they call themselves of the main forum of which this was a seperate part of but now is combined refuse to accept it is for the worse.

Besides that they haven't even finished setting the new one up!!!  Our local one got quite community spirited over the course and brought people together and now has been split because the 'directors' wish the site to be for recycling and do not provide the same community based sections within the 'improved' forum.

Therefore many people in my area wish to create our own to return to what was rather than the new 'forced upon us' version.

Sorry to go into detail.  though it would be best.


----------



## Joecoral (11 Aug 2008)

fair enough then, excuse my ignorance of the matter


----------



## GreenNeedle (11 Aug 2008)

np.  Just me getting on my high horse again. makes a change it not being on this forum. lol

Andy


----------



## Dan Crawford (11 Aug 2008)

Our forum is PHPbb


----------



## GreenNeedle (15 Aug 2008)

This is what another forum I go on said about PHPbb.  (They used FluxBB)  Is this true?  We used PhPbb anyway.lol

phpBB is a very heavy bit of software (it needs it's own very powerful server to run a large scale forum), nowhere near as easy to modify and has a horrible security track record. This is why I recommended against it.

AC


----------



## spaldingaquatics (15 Aug 2008)

www.freeforumit.com


----------



## Thomas McMillan (26 Aug 2008)

i've heard of proboards? i don't know...

there's a few that are free but you need a server for - phpbb and smf to name a few.


----------



## bugs (26 Aug 2008)

Just on the subject of people taking things to sell on eBay etc... I agree it's not quite in the spirit of Freecycle but it does still achieve the same objective - that is stopping this stuff ending up in landfill.

I'd be inclined more toward adding more support to an established, well known, and vibrant entity such as Freecycle (warts and all) than lose the momentum altogether through creating numerous divided groups.

Freecycle, eBay, who really cares - so long as someone is making the effort to recycle rather than landfill.


----------



## teg1203 (27 Aug 2008)

bugs said:
			
		

> Just on the subject of people taking things to sell on eBay etc... I agree it's not quite in the spirit of Freecycle but it does still achieve the same objective - that is stopping this stuff ending up in landfill.
> 
> I'd be inclined more toward adding more support to an established, well known, and vibrant entity such as Freecycle (warts and all) than lose the momentum altogether through creating numerous divided groups.
> 
> Freecycle, eBay, who really cares - so long as someone is making the effort to recycle rather than landfill.



I'm with bugs on this - the freecycle route is the way to go, and it is gathering momentum. Remember you can always choose who the item is going to and if they seem disingenuous when they turn up you can always make up some excuse about not wanting to let the item go. You can usually tell the muppets because they are always putting wanted ads up anyway.   

What you could do is start your own freecycle group and thus retain a degree of control over it's membership.


----------



## GreenNeedle (27 Aug 2008)

I'm afraid freecycle is not the way to go these days.  Most of the recycling sites that are springing up are by the old freecycle 'admins' or whatever they werre called 'group leaders' etc.

There are a fair few lawsuits out there and the person who first thought it up has even left due to disagreements with power crazy people.

very easy to search for. lol  If you are interested in the 'ins and outs'

I use a site called dontdumpthat.org.uk which splits into local areas so that rather than someon from edinburgh saying I'll have that, someone from down the road can arrange to collect it etc.  (This was started by people who fell out with the freecycle network and in Lincoln area at least it is much more popular)

AC


----------



## bugs (27 Aug 2008)

Nevertheless, Freecycle continues to keep stuff out of landfill, right? It also splits in to local areas.

And, if dontdumpthat.org.uk are OK, why diversify and dilute?


----------



## teg1203 (27 Aug 2008)

SuperColey1 said:
			
		

> I'm afraid freecycle is not the way to go these days.  Most of the recycling sites that are springing up are by the old freecycle 'admins' or whatever they werre called 'group leaders' etc.
> 
> There are a fair few lawsuits out there and the person who first thought it up has even left due to disagreements with power crazy people.
> 
> ...



I can see where you are coming from and would proffer the explanantion that the whole freecycle thing is fairly new in my area, based over a larger geographical area (low population density) and is a real solution to the 50 mile round trip to the municipal dump. Quite frankly I don't care where my stuff goes - as long as it saves me some petrol money and an hour or so of my life. :? 

I didn't realise so much issue had been appearing within the freecycle network - but I guess these sorts of things are always going to be run by opinionated (well minded) people, who have little or no experience of dealing with large groups of other people who do not prescribe to the same beliefs. It's a shame but it's life.  

Good luck with the new group.


----------

