i want to create a message board

[pamching]

i'm trying to create a message board for the first time where users can post their messages in the form of a list of links. what type of database do i need and how can i set up an automated process whereby the information gets returned to the site immediately? i don't know anything about interactive web design or dynamic web pages so ANY resource information is welcomed. if there are chat rooms on these topics, i'm interested in knowing where they are.

[Zach Elfers]

You can get one free at www.proboards.com (thanx Rick Bull).

[Stefan]

Originally posted by pamching
what type of database do i need and how can i set up an automated process whereby the information gets returned to the site immediately?[/B]

What type of hosting do you have available?
Is it your own mashine where you can install anything you choose to yourself, or are you looking for someone to host it for you online?

How large is this forum going to be in your estimates?

Answers to things like this is wise to provide if you wan't an answer that is meaningfull for your specific situation.

[pamching]

i don't yet have a host, but am looking at yourdomainhost.com. have you heard of them? the message board is for posting job annoucements and resumes for teachers and schools internationally. i don't think it will be that big (posting job listings). posting resumes will require a lot more space, i think. i hope to get 10,000-25,000 hits over the course of time, and would like resumes to be posted for a duration of 3 months. obviously more teachers looking for jobs will be looking at the site than schools posting a position. can you tell me what various cgi scripts i need to have besides a basic form? do all the users need to be registered with my website to be able to post their resume. how would the security for their information be taken care of and what type of free database is required to take the users' information and spit it back out to the website in the form of a link?

[Stefan]

Most of what you are looking for you should be able to get from a freeware webforum, of which there are many different.

Read the specs for them for what's required
http://www.phpbb.com/
http://www.ikonboard.com/
http://zorum.phpoutsourcing.com/
http://www.infopop.com/products/ubb/
http://www.invisionboard.com/
http://phorum.org/
http://forum.snitz.com/

You can also get remotly hosted forums eg the above mentioned
http://proboards.com/index.html
or
http://www.ezboard.com/

[spufi]

If you are going to drop money on a webhost, go to Feature Price. Another option in terms of message boards is YaBB

[jpmoriarty]

sounds to me like you dont really need a message board - it would be an incredibly inefficient way of storing the information that you mention and you'd find that people wouldnt use it too much as a result (IMHO).

Certainly what you'd need would be a database driven website, but just going for a simple message board wouldnt do the trick. You'd probably want to have a keyword registration system (for easy searching), salary ranges, locations etc. If you tried to do it with a message board then you'd be stumped by how to arrange things - a different thread for each country or county? Or a different thread for each subject? What about heads of departments etc?

I think you're going to have to go on a course (or at the very least buy a book) on either php or asp's (or any of the other variety's that are available), and then really plan to deploy a bespoke web application for it. I think if you aim to go down the freeware route you'll end up spending a lot of time trying to get it to work or do even half of what you want it to, and still wind up dissapointed at the result. What you're trying to achieve is quite a feat, and expecting the number of hits that you are it's going to be quite a task. I dont want to put you off, but I do think you need to be realistic if you're even thinking of over 1000 hits, let alone 15,000: that's a pretty busy site...

But good luck on whatever course of action you take!