Book Image

phpBB: A User Guide

Book Image

phpBB: A User Guide

Overview of this book

phpBB is a free, open source Internet community application, with outstanding discussion forums and membership management. Written in the PHP scripting language, and making use of the popular MySQL database, phpBB is a standard among web hosting companies throughout the world, and is one of the most widely-used bulletin board packages in the world. This book is an abridged version of "Building Online Forums with phpBB 2", (ISBN 1904811132), focusing on a complete set of topics to help you set up and run your own phpBB-powered online community. This book gives you the power to use phpBB to set up and run your own online discussion forums with ease. It takes you through the whole process of setting up your phpBB site, and helps you create, customize, and manage your own online community with phpBB. Written by experienced phpBB administrators and enthusiasts, the emphasis is on simple and practical guidance for you to get the most from phpBB. Packed with step-by-step examples, this book is your ideal guide to learning phpBB.
Table of Contents (11 chapters)

Logging In


After successful registration, the user can log in using the form at the bottom of the forum’s front page.

There’s a checkbox next to the password field that says Log me on automatically each visit. Users should be careful when using this convenience, especially on shared computers. You as an administrator should be even more careful on using this option, as terrible things can happen if "The Bad Guy" takes over your account. Think about who else might be using your computer—family, visiting friends, etc.

Editing Your Profile

Logged-in users can edit their original profile created during registration. If they click the Profile link in the top navigation menu, they are presented with a profile form that is actually the same as the registration form, except for two things:

  • The username is not editable. The Administration Panel allows for a configuration where the users can change their usernames, but this is not the default option, and for a good reason. Giving users the opportunity...