Off Topix: Embrace the Unexpected in Every Discussion
Off Topix is a well established general discussion forum that originally opened to the public way back in 2009! We provide a laid back atmosphere and our members are down to earth. We have a ton of content and fresh stuff is constantly being added. We cover all sorts of topics, so there's bound to be something inside to pique your interest. We welcome anyone and everyone to register & become a member of our awesome community.
joining those forums...
- Thread starter Capricorn
- Start date
I happen to like Zetaboards software from a regular member's standpoint. 
I wouldnt use it for my own forum though because you can't host it yourself or make backups. Once your forum is there, its there forever.
I wouldnt use it for my own forum though because you can't host it yourself or make backups. Once your forum is there, its there forever.
i asked this questing coz i am posting new stuffs in my zb forum. 
Kirito said:
I don't get why ppl would create a community on free service providers tbh. Almost every time forums I've been on made that transition they lost a lot of traffic.
Oh look, sword cuts both ways.
Almost every time forums I've been on were on free hosts, the administrators had unrealistic expectations from the provider and typically managed their community horribly.
When an admin has nothing to lose, there's no real incentive to provide a decent experience. Also, admins on free hosts tend to be children/childish youngsters that think they are entitled to everything they want on the internet for free. Then when reality sinks in and they discover the inherent limitations of free hosts, they have to risk killing off what little community the free host is able to sustain in order to take their ball and go play in another sand box.
Free hosts are nothing more than electronic fool's gold.
Dunno, the few free hosts I checked out in the past didn't have a lot of limitations. Speed was good, software was OK. Not brilliant and kinda outdated, but that also made it much easier to skin. There also wasn't a limit on traffic. So unless you want to clutter your forum with loads of mods which aren't really necessary, I don't see the reason for wanting to go to a stand alone forum.
Kirito said:
If all you want is 5-10 members to be able to visit, I'm sure you're right.
It seems you simply don't realize that board growth requires resource growth. Free hosts can brag about unlimited whatever, but the fact is such claims only go so far. When a site begins using too many resources, either that site needs to go or the "free host" has to pay "more money" to provide resources, and a banner ad that 99% of the visitors block via ABP (and thus refuse income for) will not provide the additional income to cover the added costs.
Well, how do I put my thoughts to words on this: Whenever I first created a forum in 2007, the website was using a shitty version of phpBB that was built-in and made easier. Then, I switched to InvisionFree, then came IPBFree, IPB, vBulletin, a real phpBB, and about a million others until I tried out ZetaBoards. And honestly, I think that IPB and phpBB may very well be the best out-there in-terms of slick design. The software that you use isn't a representation of a person's dedication to a concept or idea, but rather, how much money they have to fork over for said idea. Not the same thing at all. If the forum's good, I shall frolic happily.
