Support stuff - best method?

[ulillillia]

I made a fully functional computer game that I'm just about to release for sale, but one thing that catches my attention is handling support stuff (especially keeping track of bug reports and suggestions). What is the best method for doing this? Using an E-mail form or setting up a forum?

Using E-mail doesn't allow for easy tracking of bug reports and suggestions that well. Since I don't know any webscripting besides basic HTML, an E-mail form isn't much of an option to me. The advantage is that required fields have to be inputted (and not ignored like DirectX version (with a quick reference on how to find out) and operating system). Users may be more comfortable with E-mail forms, but responses are often slower and it's harder for me to manage bug reports and suggestions.

The forum, on the other hand, allows for easier tracking of bug reports and suggestions, and other users can respond to the more basic issues like how to use a certain special ability wisely. The main downside is that important required fields, like DirectX version, have the possibility of being left out. I also can't monitor the forum 24/7 and getting moderators is the tricky part. Forums can also be used to help track down warez users as well. The other thing is that I don't know anything about using databases and the such (it took 5 days to figure out how to install PHPBB2 back in 2003, of which I no longer have, but only an hour to set up all of the forums and stuff).

Both methods seem about equal in their pros and cons, so which, afterall, is the best method?

[NogDog]

There are a number of bug-tracker scripts out there you might consider trying, depending on what server-side languages and datbase your web server supports. For instance, if it supports PHP, here are some possibilities: http://www.hotscripts.com/PHP/Scripts_and_Programs/Development_Tools/Bug_Tracking/index.html

[ulillillia]

I've used Bugzilla to report bugs for the GIMP. So, what about general support things like the game causing an error message when starting up?

My webhost (of which I'm very likely to change webhosts soon if things don't get better) does support PHP and mySQL databases, but they say that you need to pay a fee for a MySQL database. I'm allowed some number of databases (10?) but I otherwise know nothing about databases (all I know is that they store data, but what data they store, how they are used, etc. I don't). This is my webhost (http://www.edatarack.com/hosting.html) and the features it has available. Because my services haven't been updated at all since October 2004 (one reason why I'm thinking about changing webhosts, but minor compared to the two big ones), much of this is no longer true for me. I have 40 GB bandwidth per month and 1 GB disk space (as some examples). At the time I signed up, ASP wasn't available, but PHP was. I have the plan on the far left, the cheapest one.

[ray326]

The easiest thing to do would be to use a forum or a wiki.