I have been an avid user of this site and the MrExcel site to help in my work developing applications for work. They are an impressive tool in my job now.
I am thinking of setting up something similar to support our client/licensee base and was wondering if anybody could provide some guidance on how to go about setting this up. I understand that the software is free but I do not know where to go to from here. Any pointers would be appreciated.

http://www.vbulletin.com/

I am thinking of setting up something similar to support our client/licensee base and was wondering if anybody could provide some guidance on how to go about setting this up.

Both vBulletin and phpBB contain the relevant installation instructions or, should you wish, offer an installation service for a charge.

I understand that the software is free
The software running this forum is not free. It costs $85 to lease for one year (with full support) or $160 to buy a paid license with an optional $30 per year if you want support.

phpBB is free but, compared to vBulletin, is a nightmare to edit and offers very few features and less security.

If you want to install either you will need a host with PHP and mySQL installed.

Peter,

I'd sort out a server before you worry about what bulletin board software you are going to use.

Thanks for the advice I'll check out Vbulletin.

Cheers

Before you go with vBulletin, there are a lot of free forum softwares out there. As previous posts suggest, you typically need to have MySQL or PostgreSQL installed, as well with PHP/ASP/Perl or something similar (all depending on the forum code).

Typically, free forums have a mini-advertisement at the bottom, but who can argue with free? If you wish to test it out on an ad-free server, see if adakist.com will give you an account (you have to apply for a free account). They are bannerless and give you 2 MySQL databases, many emails, and are set up for PHP.