How does this site work?

[joecdn]

I have a project that I'm working on and it requires creating a chat forum very similar to here. It'll have a little more to it, like a form to fill out, but I'm just wondering how this works. I'm assuming the info gets stored into a database, but what I really like is the automatic emails that gets sent and a way you can just click on the link to look at the reply. Is this something difficult to create? Maybe there's a sample tutorial I can go to get an idea. Anyway, any insight would be great.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Bastien]

google bulletin boards

like: vbulletin
phpBB

those are probably the two most popular

Bastien

Any one have a techie job in Toronto, I need to work...being laid off sucks!

 

[ahmun]

In looking at this forum, here are some basic concepts I can assume if I were to build my own:
[ul][li]Use a Database to store all the posts, user info, security leves, etc... (you can decide on the structure... here they might have a user table that stores a uers's number of posts, and other info... and a messages table that stores all the posts... perhaps some lookup tables to store categories and different discussion topics, of course, most importantly, store date of posts)[/li]
[li]A function that calls a mailer component to fire off an email[/li]
[li]A search engine (perhaps a well-defined set of SQL queries)[/li][/ul]

And that's just to scratch the surface. Try doing a search online for some pre-packaged forum software. I downloaded Easy File Sharing Web Server from

http://www.sharing-file.com/

just off of a random google search, and for 50 bux, this gives you the ability to post messages to a forum, as well as share files. It might be worth the money and time to outsource all of this...

You may also try talking to Tecumseh Group and see if they offer an open source version of this forum that you can use for your project

Earnie Eng

 

[YNOTU]

here's one that's very easy to configure

http://forum.snitz.com/

^{The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he who, in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of the darkness. For he is truly his brother's keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon thee....}