Making Things Difficult

So, I finally decided it’s time to get off my ass and work on the LSM page again. Figured I’d start with installing phpBB, the standard generic PHP-based forum. Simple to configure, free… can’t go wrong. Right?

Well, I came across a problem. LSM’s hosting only allows one SQL database. That spot is currently being used by my home-grown content management system, which is kind of important. So… now I get to figure out how to write a forum FROM SCRATCH. Or at least steal appropriate someone’s code.

I’d just gotten myself all excited over figuring out how I might make an alumni database work. Now this… this is a little more daunting. I don’t doubt that it’s possible, but I also don’t doubt that it’ll be buggy as hell. I just hate to disappoint. Shout-out to all web geeks: any help here? Where can I find my holy grail of forum code?

I guess the bright side is that my users a.) will be able to access the forum with their site login, and b.) will *have* to sign up if they want access to the member forums!

Update, 6/9/06: Thanks to Sheryl’s and Dan’s patient explanations, I now have a brand-spankin’ new forum installed on the LSM site! Now all I have to do is write a post about how to sign up, how to play nice, etc; add a forum link to the main site; and email the board of directors so they can be my guinea pigs to test the thing. 🙂

5 thoughts on Making Things Difficult

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  1. are any of the tables named the same? i dont think phpbb wipes out the existing data, does it? why cant they all just get along? 😀

  2. I wish. The phpBB website says (regarding SQL installs): “Before proceeding with installation you should ensure you have a database available.”

    I suppose I could always host the forum on a subdomain of one of my own sites. That might not be a bad idea. Better than reinventing the wheel.

  3. You DO have a database available, it’s just pulling double duty. Just install phpbb in the existing database, and it will add tables. As long as the BB tables aren’t named the same as your existing tables, you’re all set.

    Word.

  4. OH! *light comes on*

    Gotcha. I would have had to create an empty database anyway, to install it into, so… yeah! Got it. Thanks, y’all! I’ll install phpBB tomorrow. Rock on.

    For tonight, I’m going to bed.