The problem with running an online messageboard forum
- By Chief Editor
- Published 6 Sep 2007
Chief Editor
Experienced IT professional and frequent blogger with a special interest in technology, the internet, photography and motoring.
For a number of years now, my company has run messageboard forums on various subjects, mainly forums for local towns.
You know the type of thing; a website where you can register as a user and then make posts on the forum, answer other people's queries and so on. These types of website can easily build a really strong community of members and experts on a particular area or subject.
One of the most popular forum applications is phpBB which is used the world over. This is an excellent open source web application that allows you to run a fully featured forum with user registration, forum moderation, private messaging and much more.
But forum ow
ners are becoming increasingly aware that it is generally the owner who is responsible for the content!
If someone posts that Mr X is a benefit cheat, or that they found a toenail in their food at restaurant Y then that could be damaging to Mr X and Restaurant Y. Can you, as the forum owner, prove these allegations? In fact do you, as forum owner, want this type of thing on your messageboard anyway!
Short of sitting in front of your forum 24 hours a day filtering out dodgy or inappropriate postings, what can you do to ensure that your forum isn't open to abuse?
We will be writing a new article on "choosing your forum software" shortly. A link will be added from this blog entry in due course.
You know the type of thing; a website where you can register as a user and then make posts on the forum, answer other people's queries and so on. These types of website can easily build a really strong community of members and experts on a particular area or subject.
One of the most popular forum applications is phpBB which is used the world over. This is an excellent open source web application that allows you to run a fully featured forum with user registration, forum moderation, private messaging and much more.
But forum ow
If someone posts that Mr X is a benefit cheat, or that they found a toenail in their food at restaurant Y then that could be damaging to Mr X and Restaurant Y. Can you, as the forum owner, prove these allegations? In fact do you, as forum owner, want this type of thing on your messageboard anyway!
Short of sitting in front of your forum 24 hours a day filtering out dodgy or inappropriate postings, what can you do to ensure that your forum isn't open to abuse?
We will be writing a new article on "choosing your forum software" shortly. A link will be added from this blog entry in due course.