I would like to create a site that that allows people to select a category and/or a sub-category and invite people to join and partake in something for a limited time period determined by the OP, but also allowing other users to suggest alternative options as a votable option.

I have no idea where to start with any of this.

Is it just forum software that I should be looking at, and could anyone recommend one if it is. Also how much should I be looking at to begin with?

EDIT - Thanks everyone, all good options to look at. I am going to try a Lemmy Sub, as that seems to be the most favoured answer by users. Hopefully I will get to grips with it. 🙂

  • @[email protected]
    9•2 months ago

    My first thought is reduce the complexity for now and start a Lemmy community for what you want. I know it’s not going to be as versatile as a full-blown forum and any specific requirements you have might not be met, but there are creative ways to manage this as a moderator with the API.

    It would be free, you wouldn’t need to worry about the web security aspect for now and it might let you feel out how to manage topics/projects before you build an actual forum.

    Sorry I couldn’t directly answer your question, but was hoping that an alternative approach might be of use. It’s just that hosting and managing a forum can be a time suck.

    • @BabalugatsOP
      1•2 months ago

      Thanks, is it possible to create sub categories. I haven’t ever seen a mod api, I might try one out this evening. Thanks again.

      • @[email protected]
        1•2 months ago

        Well, you might need to do a bit of creative hacking with pinning/unpinning multiple posts. You would have a community with “sub categories” of a pinned posts. Each comment under that post could be voted on.