Help needed, new upcoming site, could use info/tips/etc...

First of all Hi!
Im a new user, been reading and learning for a while, but i figured it was time to join up.

I have a project that i need help with.

I and 10 other mods at a large news/rumors site have had issues with our sites owner.
Most revolved around the site being monetized to the hilt, with little regard to the type of users the site attracts.
Lots more flaming, and just overall dumb posting.
The owner just sold the place to some big corp that takes over at the end of the month.
We had a hard time dealing with the previous owner, and would assume it would be more of the same with corporate ownership.
The small time feel of the site is long gone.

The sites forum gets anywhere from 6,000 to 10,000 posts a day.
Its very busy with tons of members.

We want to leave and form a new site, with more user accountability and user content.
We have 10 mods, 4 feature writers, and most likely a nice chunk of users who have voiced similar complaints about the overall "dumbing down" of the site. And many ex-members who have left and would support a new site that was more like the old site.

We want a CMS type system that can incorporate into forums seamlessly.

The ability to have our featured writers post articles.
A wiki system that allows around 120 entries, with each entry being edited by a single designated user. Mostly just information relevant to our industry so users do not feel the need to leave the site to look for such info.

A simple store that takes paypal.

A betting system that is a little more robust than vBookie.

WYSIWYG style editing since we are not the most technically savvy people.
Along with easy templating to allow quick and easy page additions.

Expanded profiles, with user customation... nothing too fancy, just general info, buddy lists, a few images, and a blog pulpit with comments.

I have done some research and found that possibly a combo of PHPFox/vBulletin would be best, but i would like as much input as possible.

Drupal seemed a bit daunting, Subdreamer a bit bland, i hear lots of mixed opinion on Zoints, PHPCow seems kinda limited, etc...


Ive got very little skill technically with this stuff, so im gonna need quite of bit of help.
Ive looked at some of the sites by a few of the people here, and i am very impressed with what seems to be "amateurs" doing very nice and professional looking work.... at least to my untrained eye.

Im gonna need to know if the programs im talking about are the right move, if i would be better off by going in another direction, about the stuff i have no idea off, mainly stuff like databases and installation, etc...

Some information on bandwidth costs would be ideal as well, as i would like to know what im getting myself into.
Our budget is limited at best and our goal is to make enough money on the site to pay for the bandwidth and the featured writers/promotions, etc...
And maybe pocket a little change if possible
Maximizing the income of the site at the expense of the user experience is not the priority though.
A friend with a smaller forum recommends Dreamhost.


Any and all help/tips/information would be greatly appreciated.
And i look forward to learning from this community.

Thanks.

 

You dont need much to host a forum... But if it gets as large as the one you are leaving you'd probably want a Dedicated... You dont give much info so cant really say more.

Why use vB if you dont have money? phpBB2 is okay - and there are also more secure forums out there... but if you are 10 mods - phpbb would work fine. Fox, Nuke or any other CMS will presumably work fine as well... depends on what you need besides posting articles.

 

Thanks for the response.
I thought i had already typed enough to boor most people, so i didnt want to keep going on and on, my first post was way longer, but i cut it back.

I picked vB because its what we are familiar with as far as the mod/admin panel.
And most of us really like it, its not cheap, but its a one time fee we can deal with.

Tell me what type of information would help you give me more input, and i will post it.

 

No problem. You can find a lot of demos of wikis, blog and CMS at opensourcecms.com - if you need any specific advice about hosting and tech feel free to contact me.

 

pj1s & CSM are some awesome resources in this community. I just ran across a post that CSM responded to. I'm sure it's simple easy stuff... but wow!! I appreciate you both (pj1s & CSM).

 

I would recommend Drupal it is very customizable it offers you to change and do anything. How ever due these several options it is also a CMS with a longer learning curve then systems as Wordpress or Joomla. But in my opinion when you master it, it really pays off..

Several big sites use it already like MTV, Sony, NASA, American goverment sites, Ubutnu, NowPublic, 20th Century Fox and so on...