Topic: I am thinking of starting a website.

Anonymous 8d87c1c7770b3348786cd8ce3e1b3e82 started this discussion 3 months (2008-09-07 09:37:04 UTC) ago:

I need help with the coding, however I do not know any knowledge on coding for text fields, etc. Anyways here is my idea for a website.

The Idea

The website will basically be simply a title line and a text field where people could type anything they want. Sort of like a message board or BBS, however this will be used simply for storytelling and writing. A sort of free write if you will, where you could just type and write anything you wish. Then you submit it and it gets posted at the very bottom so that other people could see what you came up with from the top of your head.

The Layout

I am thinking perhaps a layout arranged similar to the likes of an imageboard, however it would be fairly simple like AnonTalk's layout.

The Problem

However I have hardly any knowledge of coding or HTML, now I am wondering. What coding is necessary for a website like this?

Anonymous 69f63ff6a07f24f803b29ff4cdb5a05e replied with this 3 months (2008-09-07 09:46:06 UTC) ago, 9 minutes later (#58,132):

It was a long time ago that I learned how to make websites. I started as a kid and slowly progressed to learning everything I could.

Maybe you could try installing some chan software and see how that works for you. It would be best if you coded your own though (like AT has), to make it more original/compelling. If you wanted to go down this road, install PHP/MySQL on your local machine and start with some PHP/MySQL tutorials.

Chan software download: http://wakaba.c3.cx/s/web/wakaba_kareha.html
Example of software in use: http://iichan.net/

Anonymous 8d87c1c7770b3348786cd8ce3e1b3e82 (OP) replied with this 3 months (2008-09-07 11:10:39 UTC) ago, 1 hour later (#58,140):

@58,132

That is something I do not get. What do you upload, copy your code too? What server do you use when doing this? Does anyone server like Bravehost work?

Anonymous 69f63ff6a07f24f803b29ff4cdb5a05e replied with this 3 months (2008-09-07 11:38:38 UTC) ago, 28 minutes later (#58,142):

You have much to learn, and I think it's a great subject to get into. Hopefully you're young and can get a good career out of this.

Get Dreamweaver (although Notepad can suffice), and learn the HTML/CSS codes that are the foundation of website layout. Create basic pages, save them as .html, and open them in your web browser. Do basic tutorials such as http://www.websitebeginner.com/beginning-html.shtml and http://www.csstutorial.net/introductionCSS.php

You don't need a web host until you start using PHP/MySQL to create more advanced (dynamic/database driven) pages. Get a free Bravenet account if you want, and learn how to upload via FTP. At some point you will need to pay for hosting to get the database access.

Once you've learned CSS styles & positioning, start learning PHP & MySQL so you can start doing fancy stuff like storing posts, creating login pages, etc. I learned how to do this from this book: http://www.scribd.com/doc/4174791/Beginning-PHP5-Apache-And-MySQL-Web-Development-2005

As a footnote, some of the best programmers are the worst designers. Design is another topic entirely.

Anonymous 643210c9a18b3e7cf6e710ff5fd39a63 replied with this 3 months (2008-09-07 11:44:27 UTC) ago, 6 minutes later (#58,146):

@58,142

> Get Dreamweaver

NO! Stay the hell away from WYSIWYG editors, dammit…

Anonymous 8d87c1c7770b3348786cd8ce3e1b3e82 (OP) replied with this 3 months (2008-09-07 11:50:50 UTC) ago, 6 minutes later (#58,149):

@58,146

What is wrong with, "What You See Is What You Get" editors?

Anonymous 643210c9a18b3e7cf6e710ff5fd39a63 replied with this 3 months (2008-09-07 12:02:32 UTC) ago, 12 minutes later (#58,151):

@58,149

Everything.

Anonymous 69f63ff6a07f24f803b29ff4cdb5a05e replied with this 3 months (2008-09-07 12:02:36 UTC) ago, 4 seconds later (#58,152):

@58,149

They output garbage code. You need to understand every line of code in your page. There's no reason not to type it all by hand, there's not much to it.

Dreamweaver is still good for this. It colours the code and gives you a nice preview. It also makes some things faster, e.g. adding images and automatically getting their dimensions. It also needs to be learned if you are going to work in the industry.

Anonymous 643210c9a18b3e7cf6e710ff5fd39a63 replied with this 3 months (2008-09-07 12:05:42 UTC) ago, 3 minutes later (#58,153):

@58,152

> It also needs to be learned if you are going to work in the industry.

Uh… no.

Anonymous 69f63ff6a07f24f803b29ff4cdb5a05e replied with this 3 months (2008-09-07 12:12:00 UTC) ago, 6 minutes later (#58,154):

@58,153

Your last three contributions offered no insight or reasoning. Go away.

Anonymous 8d87c1c7770b3348786cd8ce3e1b3e82 (OP) replied with this 3 months (2008-09-07 12:25:09 UTC) ago, 13 minutes later (#58,156):

Is Dreamweaver free and if not, how much is it?

Anonymous 69f63ff6a07f24f803b29ff4cdb5a05e replied with this 3 months (2008-09-07 12:32:19 UTC) ago, 7 minutes later (#58,157):

@58,156

Come into the chat room http://www.anontalk.com/chat

Anonymous 8d87c1c7770b3348786cd8ce3e1b3e82 (OP) replied with this 3 months (2008-09-07 12:35:18 UTC) ago, 3 minutes later (#58,158):

@58,157

Firefox doesn't know how to open it.

Anonymous 643210c9a18b3e7cf6e710ff5fd39a63 replied with this 3 months (2008-09-07 12:39:11 UTC) ago, 4 minutes later (#58,159):

@58,158

Wow… you are clueless beyond help and cannot even follow basic instructions. Please do not attempt to make any kind of Web site.

Anonymous 8d87c1c7770b3348786cd8ce3e1b3e82 (OP) replied with this 3 months (2008-09-07 12:57:12 UTC) ago, 18 minutes later (#58,160):

@58,159

I did what it said on the page, so what the hell?

Anonymous 643210c9a18b3e7cf6e710ff5fd39a63 replied with this 3 months (2008-09-07 12:57:58 UTC) ago, 46 seconds later (#58,161):

@58,160

Stop talking shit. I know for a fact that you are lying.

Anonymous 69f63ff6a07f24f803b29ff4cdb5a05e replied with this 3 months (2008-09-07 13:45:45 UTC) ago, 48 minutes later (#58,163):

Well, you made it in, congrats. Then you left after a few lines. I'm there daily so come and chat when you want.

Anonymous 50b9b9f7a57525dcc51a4d0ca1027a5e replied with this 3 months (2008-09-07 18:34:40 UTC) ago, 5 hours later (#58,221):

HTML, CSS, SQL, and PHP. The first three are not difficult.

Don't bother with Dreamweaver, even if you're not going to use the WYSIWYG component. Notepad++ is better and free.

@58,152

> >gives you a nice preview

Not a preview of what it will actually look like with your server-side scripting and as rendered by a browser. Uploading a file and hitting reload isn't that hard.

> >automatically getting their dimensions

It's a pointless waste of bandwidth to include the dimensions of an image.

@58,140

> >Does anyone server like Bravehost work?

Their free hosting? No. You need MySQL. Their paid hosting would work, but Bravenet is retarded and liable to drop you if one of your user's submits something controversial.

These hosts are okay for free speech:
http://www.dreamhost.com/ (beginning at over $100USD, per year)
https://www.nearlyfreespeech.net/ (cost entirely dependent on the popularity of your website)
http://mzjhosting.net/ (beginning at $15.20/year with 20% off invite, and currently invite-only. If you would like an invite link, tell me and I'll give you one in IRC.)

Anonymous 02e8f91277b1e9fd039bc2d37d138ced replied with this 3 months (2008-09-07 19:01:56 UTC) ago, 27 minutes later (#58,227):

@58,221

I recommend www.one.com for starters, cheap and reliable.

Anonymous 50b9b9f7a57525dcc51a4d0ca1027a5e replied with this 3 months (2008-09-07 19:08:08 UTC) ago, 6 minutes later (#58,228):

@58,227

From their TOS (http://www.one.com/en_US/terms-and-conditions):

"Nor is it permitted to store erotic, pornographic or other offensive material on servers owned by One.com."

A free speech host is necessary for what the OP describes.

AnonTalk BBS

Topic: I am thinking of starting a website.