Hi all,

In addition to forums, I would like my users to have their own homepages to post their media, blogs, etc. Basically, I want the forums and public galleries to be the "town square" that the members use to build a community, with each member having their own customizable space on the website.

There's nothing new to this concept, but I'm a total noob at how to accomplish this... for now, at least. ;) I like how deviantart is structured, but there's no way I could build something like it from scratch.

Can I accomplish this using Invision, or is there additional software I need to look at? (And is "software" even the appropriate term for what I'm talking about, or is it some form of PHP scripting? Again, I'm a total noob at this.)

Thanks in advance for any advice! :)

Web software is usually the same as PHP scripting (albeit much more complicated than a single-file script).

InvisionPower provides other software in addition to IPB that have the features you want - blogs, galleries, etc. There are other alternatives too - you can find any of them just by searching Google.

Also in addition to that, IP.Nexus allows you to build your own website with little coding knowledge, and if you know alot of coding, you can extend it using modules, apps, hooks etc.

Also in addition to that, IP.Nexus allows you to build your own website with little coding knowledge, and if you know alot of coding, you can extend it using modules, apps, hooks etc.

The rest of the softwares are paid, right? You have to pay extra to get them.

Websites such as DeviantArt will have coded such a feature themselves or paid someone to do so.
There are softwares such as Nexus, however, that do this and integrate with IPB - and both free and paid ones exist.

I'll take a look at IP.Nexus. Thanks, everyone :)

Of course, additional comments, suggestions would be very welcome!

I don't think IP.Nexus could do what he's requesting.

Sure it can, with some extra code. Remember, Nexus is extensible, so anything is possible if you have a developer available (or enough support that a developer who puts out free modifications is willing to do the work).

UPDATE: We've decided to go with a social networking script, using IPB for the forum. This should give us the flexibility we need with the power of IPB as our membership grows.

Nevertheless, thank you all for the suggestions, they were very helpful and educational. :)

Sure it can, with some extra code. Remember, Nexus is extensible, so anything is possible if you have a developer available (or enough support that a developer who puts out free modifications is willing to do the work).

this guys idea would be an awesome feature for IPB! just think when you click on the members name to view his profile they have their own customized little webpage they made, or include this in nexus! the members area is already really good, but man would it kill any other boards with this ability.

[b]UPDATE:[/b] We've decided to go with a social networking script

Which one, out of curiosity?

Which one, out of curiosity?

We're currently looking at BoonEx Dolphin and Joomla.

BoonEx Dolphin isn't something I advise, it's a server resource hog and if one thing goes wrong with ONE module the whole thing comes crashing down, and unless you pay for it you have MASSIVE ads all over the place unlike IPS for example where they have a copyright in the footer etc.

Joomla on the other hand is a great Open Source, you can tie it into IPB too!

BoonEx Dolphin isn't something I advise, it's a server resource hog and if one thing goes wrong with ONE module the whole thing comes crashing down, and unless you pay for it you have MASSIVE ads all over the place unlike IPS for example where they have a copyright in the footer etc.

Joomla on the other hand is a great Open Source, you can tie it into IPB too!

Dolphin also claims to be compatible with IPB, and the branding issue isn't a concern since it's pretty cheap to have it removed. I like the fact that Joomla is totally open source and has a large community, but the two examples I've found of people using it for social networking sites are a little intimidating. I was left with the impression that the webmasters are Joomla experts, whereas Dolphin presents itself as being a "social network in a can", so to speak. I'm just not sure if I want to take on the task of mastering Joomla.

Can you give me some more detail on your experience with Dolphin or Joomla? Does anyone else here have some experience with either or both of these scripts?

As always, thank you for any insight :)