DescentBB

Anyone have much experience with PHP boards? I'm just starting to read about them, and am looking to set them up on a php-enabled server. I've heard it's relatively easy and fast,and wanted someone who wouldn't mind answering a question or 2.

I just set up two windows machines for running phpbbs in less then 5 minutes per PC while I was formatting my server, course it helped that I already had all the needed config files ahead of time.

Setting them up from scratch is simple but can require some time, you will need:
phpbb from www.phpbb.com
apache http server (2.0 for windows) from www.apache.org
php4 (not php5) from www.php.net
and MySQL database server 4.0 from www.mysql.com (4.1 can also work but requires an extra tweak)

Once you get each of those installed and working you just create a blank database and install phpbb into it. I use phpmyadmin from www.phpmyadmin.net for creating the database and also setting the needed security permisions (security only for SQL 4.0, 4.1 works differently). Also www.apachefreaks.com can be a very useful site for configuring and securing your apache install.

Thanks for the info. I've got it up and going now, and just curious if you have gotten any styles from somewhere besides the main php page.