Basically why I'm here

[crash]

Originally Posted by Trojanfan

you don't need any money. It's free to start a forum with most software

Yeh but you need somewhere to put the forum. Most free hosts don't allow you to set up a forum? Am I right?

[kiz9999]

I would say about $8 for the domain name and $4 for first month of hosting.

[Ohiosweetheart]

Originally Posted by Trojanfan

you don't need any money. It's free to start a forum with most software

not entirely true... you still need a domain name... that runs anywhere from $5 to $15 depending on who you get it from. Of course, some paid hosts offer a free domain with the package.
I paid $9.99 for my domain registration, and I pay $5 per month for hosting.
IF you can afford $5 per month for hosting, then you may as well go for the gold!

[tony84]

http://www.phpbbforfree.com/
http://www.forumer.com/

sites like these will host you for free and install the software for the forum for you, you dont have to outlay any money whatsoever, the downside is that you will have to display their ads and so probably wont make any money from it, its usually a good idea if you want to start a site on a budget and then once it takes off a little you can set your own up and sell some ads to pay for the starrt up

[dblack]

I hate free boards. Why? Well, becuase if your community grows, how are you going to get your content and members moved over to a 'better' solution? You will be stuck with the free crap.

Make sure that before you use any free service, that there are well-established methods/hacks/utilities to facilitate migraiton of content to the new platform.

[forumowner]

there is absolutely no costs involved. just use a free forum host and it is free!