There is a lot of talk about what is the best forum software. A lot of people start new forums and use free forums such as phpBB, Simple Machines, or any free hosted forums. Considering that most very good forum software only costs between $100 and $200, it seems that the very script that runs your site should be more important. $200 is nothing in the long run of a successful forum. Most forum admins will spend much more than that in the long run. The thing is that you have to ask yourself if you want to run your forum right from the start or if you want to cheat yourself and your members.

I’m not bashing free forum software. It’s definitely decent or people wouldn’t be using it. But think about all the forums that you have been to. Think of the biggest and the best. Sure there are a few that manage to become highly successful using just a free script, but, don’t kid yourself. You can bet your bottom dollar that they’ve spent a good deal of cash on advertising and promotions. Literally every highly successful forum that I am a member at runs vBulletin. A few off the top of my head: DigitalPoint, SitePoint, NamePros. Even RackSpace and ThePlanet both use vBulletin for their support forums.

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If you run forums then you probably have dealt with your fair share of spam. Here are some of the more sneaky approaches that people will try to steal your hard earned traffic. I’ve taken some time to prepare a small list of some of the more common methods that spammers are using lately to get their free plug.

1. The Prospective User:  These people will join your forums and make one or two posts. The post will be something like this. “Hello! Nice community you have here! I look forward to getting to know all of you! Hey have any of you ever bought anything from xyz-store.blah? I heard they have really good prices but I am worried about using my credit card online. Can you help me? Thanks!” Gullible admins might think that this person truly is asking about that website. The truth is 10 times out of 10, they own the website. This person might seem nice at first glance, but, I would ban and delete them on the spot. I do not believe in giving warnings to spammers. Obviously they have no reason to be here except to plug their stuff.

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There are a lot of people who want to get into the web for profit game. The big question a lot of people have up front is what type of site makes the most money? While this is a valid question I think a more important question is which type of site is best for a “newbie.”  There are many advantages and disadvantages with each type of website. For example, forums rely almost 100% on user generated content, blogs require a constant commitment to writing new material, and article sites require a way to constantly have new material written.

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