I desire info on how to start my own forum

[Super Bleeder!!]

My friends and i have been sharing a common gmail acct for awhile now to trade homeworks, labs, notes, etc with each other in a convenient manner.

I want to take this to the next level and start a really simple forum. Something like this: http://www.drolex.net/student/

I believe i need to buy a domain name and get some hosting. Correct me if im wrong but didnt Enes host the site for awhile?

Any info is much appreciated as i have zero clue about web forums.

[Pushit2.0]

It would be funny if they had a forum that only talked about how to start a forum, Search might find something.

~John

[JET]

Why not just start a Yahoo user group, like MN-dsm? It is free and would probably work fine for you.

[scheides]

I host this site as well as mnmazda.com. Basically you need a working knowledge of how to
-use an ftp server to upload and download files to create a www site
-mysql configuration & setup
-register a domain name
-choose a forum software to use. This site uses vBulletin, there are many others out there. I recommend one called Simple Machines, its free and pretty kick ass.
-after all that, you need to be preparied to maintain the forum. Install updates regularly, maintain your userbase, and basiclaly figure out how to not waste *all* of your time on it ;)

You can either learn how to do all of this yourself, or pay someone else to do the setup stuff and then you handle the rest. If you need help, I know a guy ;) pm me for info.

[Speedfreak]

I'm in this boat. Scheides, could you PM me whatever info I would need to know to start a forum? Like costs, what I need to know, what to look out for, etc? Any info would be appreciated. And for anyone interested, it is not car related at all.