I typically use MyBB rather than phpBB or any paid software. This is because it seems to be the absolute best free software I can find (in my opinion, at least). I also customize my themes myself.
Need help? As time and my skills permit, I will create custom themes for any MyBB-based forum. I may also look into how hard it would be to do similar for phpBB so I can expand to both. I will create them totally free of charge, with virtually no restrictions on how you or others can later modify them and you will have full rights to redistribute copies as you wish!
So what's in it for me? This is very, very simple! When I create themes, I include two new pieces into the templates. These are not obtrusive in design, will not change anything about how the forum works, will not prevent or damage advertising for you, etc.
What are these new pieces?
Well, one is a copyright/created by notice under the MyBB copyright in the footer. When I release themes created for my own sites, they read something along the lines of "Theme provided by <site name>, copyright <shortened site name>, used with permission." where the "site name" pieces are links to the forum I created it for. Themes created for forums I am a member of typically have a different line only stating that "Theme and color modifications provided by ladyunicornejg" with my username then being a link to my forum profile. If I don't join your forum but I create a theme for it, I will probably do a cross between the two (something like "Theme provided by LadyUnicornEJG" with my username being a link to my profile on one of my sites).
The other is a "Theme Info" section in the forum statistics. It has the theme name (whatever you rename it to will show up here if you rename it), author (that's me!), website (my website here), license (the license the theme is provided under with a link to the full version of that license, usually hosted on my site), created for (the site the theme was created for; will be yours if I'm making one for you! This puts a backlink to that site in any future distributions of the theme), licensed to (this automatically adjusts to match the information specified for the site it's being used on; this just shows that you/they have permission to use the theme), and "for use on MyBB <version>." The last piece of that is optional and can be removed without violating my terms.
Okay, I'm interested. What now?
Contact me! This can be done here, on one of my sites, via email, via messenger, or pretty much anywhere else you can find me. I will need some information:
- What color scheme are you wanting for your forum? A picture to base this off of would be absolutely WONDERFUL!
- PICTURES! I am not a graphic design artist. I am not an artist at all in the sense of creating images. I am more a basic coder - I do the CSS, HTML, etc. I can do the text buttons (reply, delete, edit, warn, etc.) and a basic logo using a generator like the one at cooltext.com. I can also create buttons using a background image you provide for them and typing or pasting the text on those images using GIMP if you would prefer. Other pictures will need to be provided (not breaking copyrights, or I'll replace with defaults and you'll have to hunt them down and change it yourself). If you do not have or wish to provide an image set, I can and will use a default set. By default, I use the MyBB Transparency Pack. If you go this route you can always replace the images with something better later and changing the theme to anything but default will still help you. =)
- Are you already using modified templates? If you have plugins or other modifications installed, or if you're using a free forum host, you may have already modified the templates. Help me help you by exporting your current theme so I can use it as a baseline for the custom theme. I can work without this, but if it's not provided I will assume that it's using MyBB default templates and some things in the footer and/or stats templates may revert back to default when you install the theme. If you simply don't know how to export your current theme, you can contact me for more help on this.
MyBB Forum Themes - Offer
Installing, configuring, and maintaining your forum
- ladyunicornejg
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Free Forum Post Exchange for Forum Owners
What this site is about and/or what goes on here.
What we do here is both free and easy. In a nut shell we help each other to get new forums launched.
Let's say you are a webmaster who has just opened a new discussion forum. Because it is brand new, you probably don't have many members or posts yet. Unless you happen to have several hundred friends helping you out, it almost certainly looks like a ghost town over there, right?
We know that starting a new forum can be a bit of a "Catch-22" type of problem. Visitors won't stay if there are no posts to read. Posts won't occur if visitors won't stay. All you need is a good way to prime the pump so-to-speak. That's where we come in. And it's all free, no strings attached.
This is a collection of people who have also just started new forums and they need posts in theirs just as badly as you. We all come together here to make fair exchanges with one another. We follow the "I'll post in yours if you post in mine" policy here. No money ever changes hands because it is always just a 1 for 1 trade of friendly favors.
There are two methods to generate posts.
Post Exchange Method 1 - Start a Thread:
You simply start a new topic in the Forum Owner's Exchange Area giving your forum address and a few details about your forum subject matter...then you wait. Hopefully lots of nice people will come along, click your forum link, sign up, and make some posts. When they are done they will return here and leave you a reply telling you they have been to your forum. That reply is your cue to go visit their forum. If you have interest or knowledge of that forum subject matter, you can make a quality post or two.
Post Exchange Method 2 - Networking:
Spend a little time floating in and out of the different categories responding to all the ads that you can. If you leave your calling card, (your site link,) many are likely to return the favor by posting for you. If you are aggressive you can have a good number of posts in only a few days. (And not to mention a bunch of backlinks leading to your site.)
____________
In order to give a little neatness to the mayhem, we have created different categories for forum types. If you have a forum about cars, for example, then you should start your new thread in the Vehicles category. That way, those members who know something about cars are more likely to come across your thread with little effort. Because they are knowledgeable in cars, their contribution will probably be good quality. In return, if you don't know anything about their forum topic, simply tell them so in a reply and maybe they will give you some guidance or suggestions of what to post about. On the other hand, if you know nothing about a particular forum topic, perhaps you are better to not post there at all.
NOTE: Forum owners may not "demand" visits from anyone or flame members who have not return posted. If our members feel that they lack sufficient knowledge of your forum topics, and cannot contribute quality postings, they are not required to post. Also if you come across forums that may become direct competitors, it is best to avoid them by passing over their links and moving on to others.
If you reach a point where you no longer want members to respond to your link thread, you can "lock" your thread at any time. Also the Admin or Moderators can delete locked threads at your request.
We hope you find this a helpful stepping stone in the development of your new forum website. Please take the time to visit our other forum areas about forum development and promotion. Standard forum rules apply.
If you have a suggestion for a new category or forum improvement, please don't hesitate to contact us.
We wish you the best of luck and success with your venture. And on behalf of all the webmasters here, thank you very much for helping.
Gordon, Your Forum Administrator
PS. Enjoy those free forum posts.
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