FAQ Find answers to a few of our Customer's frequently asked questions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I run my own advertisements?
Yes! Whether you would like to use an ad network like
Google AdSense or find your own advertisers, you have
the ability to place advertisements and collect revenue as you wish.
Do you have a trial period?
While there's no free trial period, we're happy to schedule a
personalized walkthrough with you to show you the software and go
over how our platform can meet your needs. Please don't hesitate
to get in touch, we can't wait to speak with you!
What is a pageview?
A pageview occurs when a request is received by our servers
to load data. For example, if a user views your forum
homepage this will count as one pageview. AJAX requests,
where the currently loaded page makes a request to our
servers without reloading the page, also count as a pageview.
What happens when I exceed my plan's pageview limit?
If you exceed your plan's pageview limit you will accrue
"overages". We will bill you at the Pageview Overage Rate
listed in your plan for every 100 pageviews. For example,
if your pageview overage rate is $0.08 per 100 pageviews and
your forum goes over by 300 pageviews, you will be charged
an additional $0.24 on your next bill. For fractions of 100
pageviews, the price is rounded to the nearest whole cent.
Can I control who can join my forum?
There are many options available to control how members
join your forum. In your forum's administrator panel you
can choose to require moderator approval before new members
can participate on your forum. You can also disable
registrations altogether so that an invitation is required to join your forum.
Can I keep my forum private, so other people can't view it?
Yes! We have a very powerful and granular permissions system.
You can grant and revoke access to specific areas and features
to groups of people very easily. You can also adjust any board's
settings to enable the "Private Board" option. When enabled,
regular members will only be able to view threads that they have
created while forum staff members will be allowed to view all
threads. At any time you may also enable the "Guests Must Login"
option, which requires users to be logged in to view any part of your forum.
Can I get support over the phone? What are your support hours?
Yes! Phone and remote screen-share support comes standard for
our clients. To access these support options, please visit your
forum's dashboard and click on "Support" to get the support
phone number and a unique support code to streamline the call-in
process, or create a ticket requesting a screen-share meeting.
Additionally, you can get technical support via our online ticketing
system. For standard technical support, our office hours are 9am -
5pm Pacific Time, Monday through Friday, excluding major U.S. holidays.
Our team is available 24/7/365 in the event of outages or other
critical issues. For more information about our commitment to our
customers, please read our customer service page.
How do I use my own domain name?
If you have a domain name purchased from a domain registrar
such as Network Solutions or GoDaddy, you may use that
domain name with your Forums.net forum. If you choose to
use your own domain name, you must supply an SSL certificate
to enable HTTPS for that domain. To get started, please
visit your Forums.net dashboard, click on your forum, then
click on Domain Name. Follow the steps listed on the page
to set up your custom domain name.
Can I match the forum design to my existing website?
You have full control over your forum's layout via HTML,
CSS, and JavaScript. We also provide a set of easy to use
tools that make it simple to customize your forum's design.
If you would like our assistance in customizing your forum
design to your existing website, please check out our
design matching service.
How do I export my data and what format does it come in?
You may request a data export at any time by visiting your
Forums.net dashboard, clicking on your forum, and clicking
the \"Export\" button. The data export comes in the form
of a .SQL file containing the complete contents of the
database tables that make up your forum.
Are there any content restrictions for forums?
Forums.net does not add any content restrictions
other than those we are legally required to enforce.
The content on your forum must comply with all
applicable laws including copyright, trademark,
privacy laws, laws relating to adult content,
obscene content, child pornography, defamation,
computer fraud and abuse, phishing, malware,
unsolicited emails or "spam," "cookies," and so forth.
Are there any cancellation restrictions?
If you do not have a minimum term contract,
you may cancel at any time. You will only be
billed for your current pay period and any
previous balance. You must cancel your plan
at least five business days before the end of
your billing cycle to avoid being billed for
the following month.
Will I be able to transfer the content of my current forum to Forums.net?
We can import the data from most popular forum systems
for a small fee provided that you have access to a
full copy of your forum's database. For more details
please refer to our data migration page.
How will my forum look on mobile devices?
When mobile users visit your forum, they will be
presented with a version of your forum that has
been optimized for display on mobile devices.
We also offer built-in support for accessing your
forum from the Tapatalk mobile applications.
Are the forum plans customizable?
Our plans are built with flexibility in mind. If you
feel that you have a specific need that will not be
met by one of our existing plans, feel free to
contact our sales team,
and we'll work with you to build a plan that is right for you.
What is a white label forum and how will I benefit from it?
Having a white label forum means your logo is front and
center, and there is no indication within the user
interface that the forum is hosted by Forums.net. This
gives your visitors a seamless experience with your own
branding. The administration panel still has references
to the type of software being used, however this is
only visible to yourself and other forum staff that you designate.
What is a service level agreement (SLA)?
Our business plans offer a Service-Level Agreement or
SLA that guarantees 100% uptime. In the event that your
forum experiences any unscheduled downtime, you will
receive a credit on your next bill based on your plan's
SLA percentage. For full details, please visit our SLA page.
When is payment collected by Forums.net for my forum?
Payment is collected every month on the date that you
initially purchased the plan. If your date of purchase
is after the last day of a given month, you will be
billed on the last date of that month, e.g. if you
purchased your plan on May 31st you would be billed
the following month on June 30th.
How frequently is my forum backed up?
We maintain continuous backups on-site
via MySQL binary logs, which are backed
up off-site daily. You also have the option
in your Forums.net dashboard to export your
forum's full database at any time.
Does Forums.net monitor my forum content?
We will never access your forum content without
your permission. In the event that you need
assistance that requires us to log in to your
forum account(s), we will obtain your prior consent.
Are there any bandwidth limitations?
We do not place bandwidth limitations on regular
forum usage. File attachment bandwidth does have
limits set by the plan you have selected.
How do I make my forum accessible from Tapatalk?
To allow your users to connect to your forum via the
Tapatalk family of apps, you'll need to create a Tapatalk
account as a forum owner, and then add your forum to the
Tapatalk directory.
If you do not wish to publicly include
your forum in the Tapatalk directory, on the directory
registration page with Tapatalk click the "Do Not Promote"
option found toward the bottom of the submission page. By
submitting your directory entry as Do Not Promote, your forum
will not be recommended by Tapatalk to other Tapatalk users,
it will not appear in the public directory, and your members
will need to enter the full domain name to look up your forum
from the Tapatalk app.