DCForum is a complete web conferencing software for building and managing an online discussion community. Since 1997, countless webmasters from all over the world have chosen DCForum over its competitors. Whether you're managing your company's online support program or simply providing an interactive environment for Netizens of common interest, you'll find the proven technology you need in DCForum.
Product Highlights
Easy Installation
A typical DCForum installation requires editing only one setup file. It requires only a minimal knowledge in uploading files, creating directories, and changing permissions (FTP client).
Minimum Server Requirements
Because DCForum utilizes text-delimited datafiles and internal modules, the sole server requirement is that you can run Perl CGI programs on your server. See DCForum Server Requirements for details.
Clean and Intuitive User Interface
The interface is the most important aspect of a good forum software. It is imperative to keep it clean, intuitive, and user-friendly.
Easily Customizable Interface
The overall layout of the forum must be easily customizable in order to expedite the integration process of the forum to the rest of your site. You can accomplish this by modifying a single template file. Additionally, you can easily add a different layout to each forum simply by uploading a different template file to this forum's directory.
Fully Threaded Style of Discussion
While DCForum features an optional linear discussion style, we strongly believe that the fully threaded discussion format is the ideal style for a web conferencing software. Unlike the linear messaging style boards, DCForum allows one-to-one interaction among forum users and reduces the difficulty of subscribing to a particular thread among thousands of posts.
Strict security checks for all requests
DCForum checks the HTTP_REFERER environment variable for each requests. When the request is called remotely, DCForum will reject the request and redirect to the conference listings.
Four discussion levels of organizations
Conference > Forum > Topic > Message structure offers users an easy way to navigate the forum
Multiple forum types of varying access restriction
DCForum supports four different types of forums, each with varying access restrictions
Public forum: Anyone may read and post
Protected forum: Anyone can read but require registration to post
Restricted forum: Only registered users with member, team, moderator, or admin user group can read and post
Private forums: Same as restricted forums but each user must be grant access by the administrator or the moderator
Additionally, each forum can be set up as a moderated forum. In this mode, the messages submitted by users are not posted immediately to the forum. Instead,
the posts are placed in queue for approval by the administrator or the forum moderator.
Full user registration system and user administration program
DCForum offers varying level of user authentication including optional Email registration feature. It also features full user administration system for managing your user database.
Comphensive administration program
DCForum's administration program, we think, is the most comprehensive administration program there is today. Each admin tasks are categorized in a user friendly manner, offering administrators a quick access to the functions that they demand.
Fully integrated user menu
User menu is an integrated user area offering users a central location for managing following user-oriented features such as change password, change account information, edit profile and preferences, manage forum and topic subscriptions, manage buddy list and private messaging inbox, and much more. Because all user functions are integrated, users can easily access any functions via this menu.
User rating system
Registered users may rate other registered users, giving them positive, neutral, or negative scores. These scores are then used to give users a total points and star icons next to their names
Forum subscription
Registered user can subscribe to forums to receive email summary of
all the new postings in those forums.
Topic subscription
Replaces the email notification feature. It allows registered
users to subscribe to topics of interest. Additionally, the registered
users can manage this subscription list from the user menu
Option to semi-automatically perform admin tasks
For those webmasters with no cron capability, this option allows
the DCForum to semi-automatically perform various admin task including
prune forum log file, prune IP log file, send subscription, and
prune session files This is done when the administrator of the
forum logs in.
User Function Highlights
Registered users are given following features to enhance their discussion exprience:
Profile A user can setup a profile
containing self-information. This profile is then
viewable by other registered users. A user can, however,
hide his/her profile in their preference settings
Preference A set of forum preferences can be
set by a registered user to optimize his/her experience.
Bookmark A user can bookmark topics
of interest, thereby easily accessing them at a later time
Private Inbox Private inbox is an internal
messaging feature that allows registered users to communicate
with one another without using their email system.
This system enhances the forum user privacy by providing a way
of communicating with other users without disclosing email addresses.
Forum subscription Registered users may
elect to receive a digest of all new postings in forums that
they are interested in. This list is easily manageable from
the user menu.
Topic subscription In addition to forum subscription,
registered users may also elect to subscribe to a topic, which
allows them to receive email notifications when a new message
is posted to the topics of interest.
Buddy list Buddy list is simple an address
book for keeping your forum buddies contact info
Scratch pad A simple notepad system
for keeping notes and reminders
Avatar Registered users can add an avatar
image in their messages
Signature Registered users can define their
signatures in the profiles. This signature is appended to
every message they post.
Forum Function Highlights
Comprehensive user FAQ The new user FAQ module
is more comprehensive than previous versions.
Search module The search module is
newly designed for 6.2 release. It is vastly superior to
the module incorporated in pre-6.2 releases. It offers a
slick new interface and optimized search capability and sets a
new standard for other BBS systems to follow.
Forum subscription
Multiple template Allows each forum to have
different layout style
Keeping track of new messages DCForum 6.2
now offers two ways to keep track of new messages. 1, by
the date of your last visit or 2, the last time you time MARKED
forums. This option is selectable for each users in the
user preference settings.
Collapsed view/Expanded view In fully threaded
discussion mode, the user may elect to view the topic listing
in collapsed view or expanded view. The administrator may
disable this option.
Who's online Allows users to list of users
who has had access to the forum in last x hours.
Global Announcement feature
Email a topic to a friend feature
Printer-friendly copy of topic or message
Topic Function Highlights
Topic types Users can categorize their postings
to indicate what type of posting they are submitting.
Editing capability Users can edit their
message within a time limit set by the administrator
Polls With 6.2 release, users may now post
POLL questions if it is allowed by the administrator. Otherwise,
only the administrator and moderator may submit POLL questions.
Anchored topics Administrator or moderator
may submit an ANCHORED TOPIC. This topic then remains at
the beginning of topic listings.
Locked topics Adminstrator or moderator can
LOCK a topic. The topic then becomes READ-ONLY.
Topic rating If enabled, users can rate topics
to indicate which topics are good reading and which are not
Hot topics Hot topics indicate topics with
number of replies exceeding a threshold set by the administrator.
They are indicated by an animated gif image of a flame.
Topic subscription
Option to allow HTML and images in posts
Intellink - automatically links URLs
Option to use emotion icons in messages with
the ability for the user to turn it off for each post
