Questions about hosting a forums

[Dowser]

hey all.

 

I'm trying to help my Father in Law establish a forums for an organization he started about 10 years ago called Shorewalk. It started off as a small town thing but has the potential to go Canada/North America wide if given the chance to be promoted correctly. He's fighting the big fight to reclaim the right to walk our Great Lakes because as it stands now, in 1951 the laws in Ontario somehow got changed that the high water to the low water mark no longer belongs to the public and is now the right of the property owner right down to the low water mark.

 

It all started years ago when we were run off the beach by a home owner while we were just going for a leisurely walk down the beach enjoying nature at its finest. That got him pretty heated and he started learning about what was the law on the matter and what wasn't. What he didn't expect was to find a great number of Cloak and Dagger stuff going on in the back ground with Rich property owners influencing local and provincial governments to pass bills in their favor, allowing encroachments on public Road access points to the beach and much more. In his search for answers he's had mixed results since a lot of very wealthy people have a lot of influence in the small townships. There has been great progress in his area and basically what he is trying to do is follow the US initiative in Michigan and set a law that allows the public to walk the shores of the entire Great Lakes. It doesn't allow you to throw a towel down and lay anywhere you want, just be able to LEGALLY walk the beach without someone telling you to get off their land.

 

Soooo Had to pitch that a sec. Now on to the question. Although I use many forums I know very little about starting or operating one. I have done a bit of research though and found that I really like what phpBB has to offer and its community support is amazing so that is the type of forum software we will be using. I found a Host provider as well that we would use but this is where I get a little confused. Reading the install procedures it seems to me that I cannot install the software on my PC but rather have to upload it the Host provider. It's so early into the project that we didn't want to start paying a host without even having the forum ground work even started. Is there any way that I can work on designing the layout of the Forum, and getting it ready before uploading it to a host?

 

If the answer to that is no, then is it possible that I can host it myself off of my PC in anyway temporarily to start the ground work? Any advice is welcome and I really have NO CLUE how to do this. It's something I feel I can learn I'm sure, just need to get started to get my hands dirty.

 

 

Also, If any of you that read this check out the website that I posted for Shorewalk, and believe in this cause, do us a favor and sign up for a free membership. We hardly send out emails and nothing is really required from you, unless you would like to get involved, but the membership numbers count when you're trying to prove a point in politics. It's a great cause, and everyone that would like to see the chance to do this should promote it. Even if its not in your country it still makes no difference. We have ties with American Organizations that follow the same goals so if you believe that it should be every persons right to walk the shores of these beautiful lakes, sign up. The Forums we are trying to start are going to be to start a great community and I think its the next step for shorewalk to further the cause.

 

 

Once again... Any insight on how I can start to work on this without having to dish out cash before the Forums are designed is appreciated.

Edited July 18, 2010 by Dowser

[BowTied]

I have no advice on your questions... but very interesting group. What are the laws here? I read there something about high-water/low water mark... if I am walking in the water, am I completely off the private land area?

[Dowser]

Well that's a good question and one I'm not 100% sure on. I know as a kid I used to live across the street from the Wealthy waterfront owners at Crystal Beach Ontario. I used to go to the public access point and walk around and they had security set up stating I couldn't walk the beach. they even have Fences going all the way to the water edge so you know whats public and whats not. Security was and still is paid for by the land owners. We used to walk in the water to head to this old Pier that was there and security used to let us walk thru the water if we were far enough out but They used to still give us problems if we were just walking in the tide. I'll ask the founder out himself tomorrow and see what he has to say cause I'm sure he would know.

 

Myself, I'm very interested in this venture but like MANY MANY others, I know very little on whats going on. That's why I suggested to get these forums out there. So that people can start learning about what Federal and Ontario Laws are, and then Hopefully start working on municipalities to further see what smaller township laws are regarding access and walking the shores. He's done a TON of leg work but has had to step down from it. 6 or so years ago this whole thing had him pretty stressed out and he's now in his 70's. He developed some heart conditions and had a Pacemaker/Defibulator installed. We had almost lost him and he obviously still has a passion for this, but can no longer be at the fore front. I'm trying to help him with his legacy and make the shorewalk forum a place for anyone that wants to know whats happening in their community, their beaches, their laws, everything pertaining to beaches accessible. We'll be doing ALL sorts of stuff for communities across Ontario for ALL our great lakes. We just need to get the word out there so people can start to see what's happening around them in the shadows.

 

It will be the one stop Beach shop for the Canadian side, with links of course to American outfits that are following the same passion. We're going to try and map out Every public beach access point on all the great lakes eventually, catagorized by lake, municipality, township, beach access point, and then have information about that specific beach. Washrooms, Parking, Condition of Beach, Type of Beach(stone, sand, grass, etc), Pet laws, etc. That way people planning an outing can really get to the heart of the matter and know their rights.

 

I'll find and answer to your question.

 

One more thing I forgot to mention. We are setting this up to in the hopes of having Web Meetings for all members to see and participate in. Each region will have an elected president and will represent your township. They will be able to take part in the organized meetings online to talk about the current issues, shorewalks future, and what goals to set for future matters. The mermbers will be able to ask questions during an Online Question period as well to help get the information out there more easily so If it's involvement someone is looking for, we will do our best to provide it. This is all Non profit by the way. Just concerned citizens wanting every Canadian Person regardless of nationality to be able to Canada and experience our waterways Legally.

Edited July 18, 2010 by Dowser

[nunya]

Interesting group, I have no advice but am intrigued on the concept of the organization...

[Precise1]

Get off of my beach!!!

 

B

[nismothunder]

This is interesting,I never knew that its legal to walk on the beach in front of private property.I've been yelled at many times to get away from somebody F-ing house on Surp.

[Precise1]

That has nothing to do with beaches and everything to do with you...

 

B

[GrimGreg]

Just go to IPB and download the software.

[RedPath88]

You might look into a free forum hosting service, just to get the feel of the software before jumping into a paid hosting plan.

 

http://www.google.co...QAAAKoEBU_Qk3Zj

 

Also, if you want to test it out on your own system then you can download some trial server software or free server software, install and configure the server, then the forum itself. But this may greatly increase the learning curve if you have no knowledge of servers currently.

 

If you did go that route, you can do it on a spare computer if you have one, or download a virtual machine program and install it within that. Then the server OS would run inside a window of your current system.

[nismothunder]

That has nothing to do with beaches and everything to do with you...

 

B

I figured that,they get pissed when you go skinny dipping in there heated pools in winter too,I dont understand why?

[Dowser]

Thanks for the information given. Redpath, thanks for the link you provided. I did a search of the same exact thing but thought I would ask some questions on here first before setting anything up. I did end up going with a free site for the time being to start to put the forums together. I'll be using phpBB3 software and already I'm seeing how daunting a task this will be for a guy with zero extra time for himself. I have a feeling this is going to be something that I just may have to hire someone for due to time restraints on my part. Not only is setting the forums up on its own time consuming, but the fact that I know virtually nothing and have to learn on my own makes it painstakingly slow. Oh well.... Keep grinding away i guess and see how it goes for a while. Thanks again for those that answered and to which ever NPORA member that signed up to Shorewalk, (yes I already heard that one of you have) It means a great deal to all of us at shorewalk. I'll do my best to try and get these forums operational, pleasing to look at and easy to navigate thru. They may even be ready just in time for CHRISTMAS! hahaha.

 

I have no advice on your questions... but very interesting group. What are the laws here? I read there something about high-water/low water mark... if I am walking in the water, am I completely off the private land area?

 

I promised you I'd get ya an answer and the answer is like many other things concerning our beaches. That is, its a gray area, and not yes or no. Technically, you should be able to walk in the water as private home owners do not have rights to the water, so in that regard you would be ok, BUT... in some instances, people have applied for and have shown reason to have their property extend into the water and been approved. Now, there aren't a lot of people who have done this, but it has been done which means it can be done. In some ways I can see some people thinking well if its alright to just walk along the beach in the water then what is there to fight about, well... there is a lot more at stake then just being able to walk the shores really. It's one of your freedoms that we have somehow lost without a lot it be really publicized. You also may not always be wanting to walk in the water. The beach is a beautiful place in the cold seasons as well. Not to mention that I personally would love to tell the next person that comes scooting out from their house to tell us to get the hell off their property and to turn around that we are doing nothing illegal, in fact you are harassing us and I should call the Police and file a complaint.

 

Anyway. thanks for the support from whoever has and may yet still join our cause.

Edited July 22, 2010 by Dowser

[Simon]

We use phpBB3 for CNTC, and it works well. It's fairly easy to administer and set up, and there are a lot of add ons that make it very powerful.

 

Oh, and on the topic of your father in laws "fight" I can see both sides, though, being able to walk along a shoreline should be allowed. The problem is, there's so many idiots who will abuse that right, and/or destroy people's property that the homeowners adjacent these shores get upset.

[Dowser]

And I see and Understand that point as well. Originally pre 1951, the law stated that the area between the High water mark and the low water mark was to be public. At this point all we want is to have the right the walk, not to put a blanket down or make trouble. I think of it like this. As a 4x4 group we try and promote the Tread lightly initiative but their will always be the few pricks that ruin it. Do we as enthusiasts say the hell with it and just give up or do we try and set examples and clean up trails and promote staying ON the trail, etc. Same goes for shorewalk. We organize beach clean ups, and try and promote a responsible use of the waterway in order to not ruin it for everyone. In my opinions, we live in a country that is supposed to be a democracy. The number of people who would like access vs those that own property on the beach should be MUCH MUCH higher if people knew they have NO legal right to. If I was a waterfront property owner myself I would have a problem with kids trashing the beach in front of my house without a doubt and would definitely not want to have that happen. But to deny people that just want to enjoy a walk along a beach is just not acceptable in my opinion.

 

 

Also, on the CNTC site, how do you guys set up the dividers between different areas. Like the Forum, General, Pictures and Video, Garage, etc. I've been reading but if its easy to explain then maybe you can save me some time if you know.

Edited July 23, 2010 by Dowser

[Pezzy]

Under the forums tab, each of those sections are a new forum.

[Dowser]

Under the forums tab, each of those sections are a new forum.

I know that much. What i was refering to was the actual tab. I can't seem to figure out how to make the tab header. all i have is a long list of forums with no divisions. I'll keep trying to sort it out.

[Pezzy]

I know that much. What i was refering to was the actual tab. I can't seem to figure out how to make the tab header. all i have is a long list of forums with no divisions. I'll keep trying to sort it out.

 

 

drat... let me get my road map out... i know its in there somewhere.

[Simon]

In Forums, you create a new forum. That makes a "tab" as you've said, for each section. Then, within there, you create subforums.

[Pezzy]

Okay, when you are under FORUM, create a new forum, (put a name in, and hit CREATE NEW FORUM), it will take you to a new page that lets you determine all the different settings, in the very first drop down (forum type) choose category, then set up the rest of your options from there.

 

When you are done, and back on that FORUM tab, you will see your new section, click on it, and there you can create the forums that will go in that section.

[Dowser]

Genius..... Pure Genius.

 

Thanks you 2.