Never Used Any Forum Software Before

[TheCoffeeTableGamer]

Hi my name is Brandon and I'm here to ask a few questions. But First. I am 15 years old and have no experience running a website. So in a few months when i gather the money i plan to open my own forum. The questions i have in mind are:

• Is XenForo easy to set up and use?
• Do you need much experience to keep it running smoothly?
• What are some things i should know/learn first?

If any one could think of anything else that would be helpful. Thank you.

NOTE: I will not be on for the next two or so hours as i am at school right now.

 

[surfsup]

Well you sure did come to the right place!

 

[mistypants]

I still think it is unwise to learn a very different system and then transfer to XF. XF is so advanced and way ahead of other forums in how it does things to make things easier for us as admins. But there are certain differences that I have seen other newcomers say are difficult to get used to when they have used MyBB or the others.

I was very surprised to see it recommended here to start with another software. We get plenty of complete beginners and I have never seen this pathway recommended before. XF is so much nicer to use in so many ways I don't see the point. Learning a new system once you have got used to another one is a pain.
Nor is it expensive really - a bit of doing jobs for neighbours would cover it for a young person unless they live in a very poor country.

My vote is that XF is ideal for beginners, both because it is designed to be clear and logical (which other older systems are not because they grow extra bits over the years)
- and because the community here is about the most helpful and fast on the net to get answers. Ive seen newcomers fire off several questions an hour over their first few days. They get answers straight away. You do not find that on other support forums.

I agree that it's best to start out with XF since that is (hopefully!) where he'll end up, but while he's still just learning about basic webmastering and such, there's no reason to plunk down $140. That's not much for a site that makes revenue or an adult with an income, but for a teenager, it's a nice chunk of change.

 

[Digital Doctor]

My suggestion will be Agriya's Discuzz software, which seems to be best to create forum immediately.
All the best !!!!

Hi first time post mentioning Discuzz

 

[Mario Rodriguez]

I was very surprised to see it recommended here to start with another software.

Morgain,

I agree with Mistypants. I think we all took in account that the question came from a 15 year old teenager for whom $140 could be a lot of money and I agree from that perspective that the right advice to give him is to try free software first and later if he finds out this is what he wants then is free to invest his money on XF. Even many adults for whom $140 is not a big issue, wouldn't pay that money either out obscure principles, you know, those who think that everything should be for free except their own work.