Lots of stuff to think about before you even start in on the forum program.
There are a lot of cgi or PHP forum programs available, from free to several hundred dollars.
The best thing is to look around at the forum programs that are available and see what you like and make a list of what you want it to do and how.
Then hook up with an awesome programmer and be very very nice to him/her. LOL
Seriously, these folks here are good and you should be asking in the cgi forum
forum452 programmers in there are really sharp and can probalby guide you to the best source to learn how to do the programming for the forums.
If you are interested in ready made forums, I'd check out HotScripts
for PHP and CGI scripts or CGI-Resources
for cgi programs.
I am (well, this really cool programmer)in the middle of
modifying the forum program I have to better suit my needs. There is alot to it, more than I can comprehend. Plus, you will need some debugging software and such.
Again, the folks in the cgi forums will most likely know what all you would need.
Hope this helpds. Have fun.