On top of doing photography I would also like to start a message board. I already have one planned in my head. I would like to have some tips on getting started and what do I have to look out for.

Try SMF. It's very popular and free:
http://www.simplemachines.org/

The top issue is Security. Be sure you keep it updated with the latest version - which will address the "holes" that hackers find.

My suggestion is assuming you have a website already. Do you?

If not, I love Lunarpages (http://www.lunarpages.com/?id=jackso7) - and have 11 sites with them now. They're not the cheapest ($95 per year), but the service and features are awesome... and they've got a great support forum too: www.lunarforums.com

You could use the site for both your photography AND a message board.


... and I see crankiebabie.com is available! http://www.jackson8.com/images/amhd/thumb.gif

I second the SMF recommendation. There are free hosting services out there for SMF, but I haven't tried any of them. Some are advertising-driven. I'd do a little research before deciding on one, if you go the free route. Google "free smf hosting", find a list of free services, then Google their names to see what others have said about them.

Vasily