ASP.NET Forums is gone and Community Server's not free

21. September 2007
Comments (13)

What happened to the download links for ASP.NET Forums on the www.asp.net website? As soon as Community Server 1.0 came out the links disapearred. I didn't really think of it at the time, but now that I want to set up a Forum I would like the old ASP.NET Forums.

Why not Community Server?

Well, the reason I don't want to use Community Server is because the licenses keep getting more restrictive with the release of each new version. I just looked at the CommunityServer.org website and it doesn't even look like there is a free version anymore. The cheapest version is the Personal Edition and it costs $99!

What am I to do?

Well, I've actually decided to code my own forums, and the real reason I was looking for the old ASP.NET Forums code was to use it as a reference. All I could find is actually the Mono ASP.NET Forums; which was actually started by using the ASP.NET Forums as it's base. I'm going to use the Mono ASP.NET Forums as a reference and take some pointers from the BlogEngine.NET project (the provider based data access), along with taking into account any tips that I've learned over the years of working with ASP.NET 1.x/2.0.

Also, if anyone has the old ASP.NET Forums 1.0 or 1.1 code sitting on a backup disc somewhere, could you please let me know? I'll put it up here so others can get it.

Well, just in case you're wondering, I'm thinking about making the code for the forums that I build available, but no promises.

Updated 9/24/2007: Apparently, I wasn't completely accurate in assuming that the Express Edition of Community Server is no more. It is still available, but the page explaining its terms and license isn't linked on the "Get it Now" page along with all the others. You can find it here: http://get.communityserver.org/Express.aspx

This still doesn't alleviate my concern that the good old ASP.NET Forums has dissapeared. But, it has been pointed out in the comments that the old ASP.NET Forums 1.0 has been put up here: http://rapidshare.com/files/57303689/aspnetforum.rar.html

General ,



Comments

Andreas Kraus
Andreas Kraus
9/21/2007 1:02:00 PM #
I blogged about this, too, some weeks ago: www.andreas-kraus.net/.../

It's really a pitty that we need to stick with PHP forums if we want to use a full featured forum which is not overpriced.
Muhammed Tahiroglu
Muhammed Tahiroglu
9/21/2007 5:46:00 PM #
hi chris, i've looked at my disc for this forum source code. yes, you can get it from:
rapidshare.com/files/57303689/aspnetforum.rar.html

Guy
Guy
9/22/2007 9:52:00 AM #
considering that phpBB is completely free it makes community server look like a rip off.  im an asp.net developer and only ever recommend or use phpBB.

No wonder there is such a big php community!
SimoneB
SimoneB
9/22/2007 1:02:00 PM #
Anyone mind creating an open source project and see what support it gets from the community? DotNetKicks is a great sample, I think about 300 commits in the last few months from new members.
Jon Sagara
Jon Sagara
9/22/2007 1:17:00 PM #
There is a free version called "Express Edition", though there are limitations.

http://get.communityserver.org/Express.aspx

Also, the source code is available for viewing, and, should you desire, creating your own custom modifications.
Jesse Foster | jf26028
Jesse Foster | jf26028
9/22/2007 5:44:00 PM #
You could give Yet Another Forum (yaf) a try.  http://www.yetanotherforum.net/  It seems a bit dated in some respects, but is very stable and solid.
Jason Alexander
Jason Alexander
9/22/2007 7:32:00 PM #
Hi Chris,


I'm sorry you're frustrated with Community Server in these regards. But, we've always been openly supportive of our roots and taking care of our own community.

As such, we do have the Express Edition, and we often give out free licenses to free, community-supported sites.

Ping me at my email address (jalexander [at] telligent [dot] com) and let's chat!

We're definitely not the evil empire that some make us out to be sometimes. Smile Give us a try! Smile



-Jason
Joe Audette
Joe Audette
9/23/2007 8:46:00 AM #
Why not try mojoPortal (http://www.mojoportal.com)? Its truly free, truly open source, has forums, blogs and lots of other features and it keeps getting better all the time.
Cheers,
Joe Audette
Steven Harman
Steven Harman
9/24/2007 7:22:00 PM #
You could also give SubSonicForums a whirl... http://code.google.com/p/subsonicforums/
Sean Paul
Sean Paul
10/16/2007 4:38:00 PM #
Why not DNN? I know its a huge beast (for a newbie). But it is worth putting some effort in customizing it.  They got forum and blog modules, you can use the YAF's module if you don't like the default forum that comes with DNN.

I have the CS 1.1 source code (from early 2006) some where in my backup drives. I'll drop a line with the link after putting on a file sharing site.
Jesse Foster | jf26028
Jesse Foster | jf26028
10/26/2007 1:19:00 AM #
DNN always seems like a good solution, until you actually put it in.  Then, it is just one problem after another.  And, if you are on a shared hosting environment, things are even worse.  It is a shame, too, because there really is a lot of work that went into dnn, and, on paper, it is really powerful.  The problem is that it is bloated, slow, and full of useless features (like the task scheduler) that slow it down to a grinding halt.
Brian Carver
Brian Carver
11/21/2007 2:38:00 PM #
If any one still needs a copy, I have the asp.net forums exe shared at

http://www.box.net/shared/2nral0vu7b
Steven P
Steven P
2/12/2008 12:33:00 PM #
Hi,
I got hold of AspNetForums source code from rapidshare.com/files/57303689/aspnetforum.rar.html

Now, I know this project is burried and CS is being sold. Does anyone knows if I can use this old code to integrate into my website (a public facing forums)???
Comments are closed