DotNetBB

Award Winning Message Forum Software for ASP.NET

Unlike most forum packages available, dotNetBB was built from the ground up using Microsoft's .NET Framework to ensure the best performance and reliability. Coupled with a Microsoft SQL Server backend (v2000), dotNetBB has the capability to easily scale to meet your community forum needs. If you have any pre-sales questions, please view our pre-sales FAQ.

DotNetBB Version 2.4 Features

  • Most recent active topics list (full page listing)
  • Active User list: beside listing who's on the forum, also lists where they're are or what they are viewing
  • Subscribe to a thread (change from current, by including a quick link for user to subscribe/unsubscribe for each thread)
  • Next topic/ Previous topic links in the message thread.
  • When a user changes their email address, there is an Admin option that their new e-mail address can be validated real-time.
  • Admin setting to disable birthday's from showing in the calendar.
  • Allow moderators to edit/reply to locked threads.
  • Hide references to PM and PM contact information if disabled on a forum, not just show and say disabled when clicked.
  • Admin defined custom titles for users
  • "Back to top" links in thread view.
  • Admin tool that allows for poll choices to be edited.
  • Change e-mail notification mailer signature to reference the sending site.
  • Page title displays forum name, or thread subject.
  • Removed the "Andrew Putnam" with e-mail link in the copyright info.
  • Change [code] and [flash] legacy items on WYSIWYG to actual HTML inserts
  • Added an Admin option for default language (currently hard-coded as en-us)
  • Confirmed that all logErrorMsg() calls reflect the proper function referencing the error.
  • Improved the calendar posting options by adding the use of the mCode/WYSIWYG editors.
  • Enhanced attachment options. Admin definable max attachment count. Upload/Delete attachment options now exist when editing.
  • Added an option to not notify original poster of a deleted post in a moderated forum during the approval process.
  • Added an option on the thread pruning tool to include posts with replies.
  • Added an Admin setting defining the default date/time format for the server.
  • Modified all date stamps to use the defined date/time format to use date formatting based on the language, browser or Admin defined settings.
  • Added a display name field to the member profiles that is shown instead of the login name.
  • Change all locations that display the user name to display the new display name value instead.
  • Multiple attachments displayed with posts. If attachment is an image, a thumbnail is shown if the image is larger than 100px high or wide.
  • WYSIWYG Image button now can edit existing images when selected, as well as, be used to define height, width and alt tag settings.
  • WYSIWYG Flash button includes quality, loop and background color options in additon to size.
  • WYSIWYG Code button will now wrap selected text in the code block pattern.
  • Change user uploaded avatars so they are scaled proportionally on upload if larger than maximum allowed height and width
  • Add Admin option for calendar post permissions (all can post or only moderators can post).
  • Changed "Show Email address" option to false by default when creating new accounts.
  • Added Admin option to require adminstrative approval before new member profiles are approved to log into the forum.
  • Added Admin option for images to render in the post or be shown as a text link to the image.
  • Added Admin option to disable flash from being posted.
  • Member listing now uses a dropdown for paging when more than 25 pages (@50 per page) are listed.
  • Message thread now uses a dropdown for paging when more than 10 pages (@25 per page) are listed.
  • Moderator button is now hidden from moderators when the forums they have moderator control over do not require post approval.
  • All primary forum .aspx pages now use codebehind and include customizable header and footer controls where needed. (Inline code pages are included also in a separate folder, but without header/footer controls)
  • Edit / Delete User Profiles admin tool can now be filtered based on User Name, Display Name or E-mail address.

Additional Forum Features

  • Cross-browser compatable rendering.
  • Multiple authentication sources including:
    1. Native dotNetBB
    2. IIS Challenge and Response
    3. Parent Site Forms Authentication
    4. Custom Session Variable matching
  • Forum Conversion tools allowing simple migration from:
    1. Microsoft ASP.NET Forums
    2. Snitz Forums
    3. Web Wiz Forums
    4. Additional import tools can be custom built upon request (no extra charge)
  • WYSIWYG integration (IE 5.5+)
  • Uploadable files in posts (Attachments)
  • Group permissions capability
  • Community calendar
  • Multiple languages selectable by the member in their option settings
  • Addition of group level permissions instead of only user level
  • Sortable forum listing
  • Enhanced post moderation tools
  • Per thread marking of viewed topics
  • Member Avatars can now be uploaded and are stored in the database
  • Available avatars are now shown in a "Gallery" view style
  • Updated Private Messaging features and interface
  • Updated administrative tools and features including :
    1. Updated Forum Builder Tool that is easier to use
    2. Lower bandwidth option to use text links instead of images
    3. Contact bar can now be disabled from view
    4. COPPA requirement can now be disabled from use
    5. Private forums can be hidden or visible now in the top forum listing
    6. Individual members can be given a different private message mailbox size
  • True n-tier design for complete scalability.
  • Driven by fully managed ASP.NET assemblies to ensure optimum performance and reliability.
  • Uses Microsoft SQL Server database backend with stored procedures (v2000 or v2005).
  • Look and feel can be customized using standard Cascading Style Sheets and easy to modify templates based on HTML.
  • Database driven search engine.
  • Capability to add polls to forum postings.
  • Forum quick message posting.
  • Updated forum themes
  • All forum text is fully editable by the forum administrator.
  • Updated notification mailer to only send one notification until you view the thread again.
  • Enhanced post formatting including font color and sizing.
  • Forum member listing.
  • Printer friendly version of the message threads.
  • Simplified registration process.
  • Complete user control panel for editing personal preferences and managing subscriptions.
  • User selectable ignore filters.
  • Collapsable forum categories.
  • Improved search results layout.
  • Changed most of the common links and form buttons to administrator editable images.
  • Quick notification mailer allowing forum members or guests to notify the forum administrator of posts.
  • Public, Registered and Private forum support.
  • Unlimited number of Forums, Forum Groups, and Message Threads.
  • E-mail notifications and forum subscriptions.
  • Private messaging between registered members.
  • Support for Emoticons and mCode in forum postings.
  • Unlimited number of forum moderators or administrators with granular permissions.
  • E-Mail address verification during registration.
  • User editable profiles
  • Ban users based on IP, E-Mail or login account.
  • Customizable word censoring.
  • Admin setting for additional meta tags
  • Admin setting for additional copyright info
  • Admin setting for cookie key name
  • Admin setting for No-Cache headers
  • Compliant with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998
    (http://www.ftc.gov/opa/1999/9910/childfinal.htm)
  • Simple to use administrative tools allow you to quickly modify the forum functionality with the click of a mouse.
  • SQL data layer uses stored procedures for best performance.
  • And much more!

Requirements

The requirements for dotNetBB Forums are minimal, so the forum can coexist with other applications on the server, but you should be aware of these minimum requirements to run the forum successfully :

Web Server
  • Windows 2000, Windows XP or Windows 2003 (all versions)
  • RAM : 256MB
  • CPU : PIII 500MHz
  • Available disc space : 20MB
  • IIS 5.0 or newer with the .NET 1.1 Framework installed (.NET 1.0 is not supported)
  • An available SMTP server to send email notifications (authenticated SMTP is supported).
Database Server
  • Windows 2000, Windows XP or Windows 2003 (all versions)
  • RAM : 512MB
  • CPU : PIII 500MHz
  • Available database space : 20MB
  • Microsoft SQL Server or MSDE Database Engine v2000 or newer.

NOTE #1 : While it is possible to run the forum on Windows 2000 desktop or Windows XP, Microsoft imposes application limitations within IIS that decrease performance and is not recommended for production usage.

NOTE #2 : The available database size will grow dynamically as your forum grows. The average growth rate seen from customer response is between 1mb and 2mb per 1000 posts. This size does NOT account for any attachments that are uploaded. Your results may vary.

How to Buy

Buy Shopping Cart Software

DotNetBB Pricing Starting at $95. You can purchase products 24 hours a day from our online store. Most products are available for immediate electronic download.

Other Resources

FAQ Frequently Asked Questions and Answers about DotNetBB Message Forums

Documentation DotNetBB Documentation and Help Files

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