I am thinking of hosting a forum for an upcoming game (i emailed the founder and asked permission). This is not something i am experienced in. My thoughts are: dedicated server, URL, and support https. Start with the the smallest Linode, use backup if it picks up, and migrate to a larger linode if it requires it.

FWIW, the reason i want the forum is to facilitate communication between the players, to help people understand how to play, discuss strategies and tips, and advertise when a player plans to start a new game.

Any comments or suggestions?

Sounds like a sane plan. I'd say sign up and give it a go

- Les

Which kernel would be "best", security wise? Same question for forum software. By default, i am thinking phpbb, just because i have used it before. I do not really have a preference.

Distro's - They're all the same. Use whichever one you're familiar with unless you have a really really good reason to learn something else.

Same for the forum software. PHPBB is popular, SMF might be a tad more secure (let the forum app wars begin!).

Nothing is completely secure, so worry more about proven backups (and tested restores) then what distro/app claims to be more secure.

Then just keep everything patched to date and backed up and you're as good as you can get.

_________________
Either provide enough details for people to help, or sit back and listen to the crickets chirp.
Security thru obscurity is a myth - and really really annoying.

I am used to Debian. You don't think red hat or one of the bsd's is more secure? I do not mean to compare them, per se, but, if the server will be dedicated to this (which i think is best when supporting other people) convenience doesn't seem to take first place, so choose the one that focuses on being a server. That is my approach, which i am not sure of, proven by the fact that i am asking about it.

>Same for the forum software. PHPBB is popular, SMF might be a tad more secure (let the forum app wars begin!).

That acronym rubs me the wrong way. If it's only "a tad" more secure, i'd not prefer it because of that.

>Nothing is completely secure, so worry more about proven backups (and tested restores) then what distro/app claims to be more secure.

For backup, just use Linode one-tick(tm) backup plans. It is just a checkbox to drain my wallet further, right?

>Then just keep everything patched to date and backed up and you're as good as you can get.

What's a good method for that? Login everyday and run whatever update software the distro has? At home, i just do it now and then.

chacham1,
SMF stands for Simple Machines Forum (http://www.simplemachines.org). If the name of a package, or an acronym some use when referring to it, are going to be deal breakers for you then you better check everything on your server carefully. Linux developers, and Open Source Software developers, often use "interesting" names for their products. I bet there are several things on your server with names or acronyms you won't like.

Make a list of the features you want your forum to have, and then add features you see available in other forums that would be nice to have. Then compare that list against the many forum software packages that are available regardless of their names or acronyms. Select your software based on how well it meets your needs, not based on its name.

Debian should be fine for your needs, as would any of the other common distributions. Don't ask if any of them are "more secure" because that all depends on how you configure them. Even if one was a tad "more secure" you might discard it out of hand simply because you didn't like its name.

MSJ