I am in the process of writing a forum (or at least a forum client) in Flash.
However, many things concern me.
Security Since there are several SWF decompilers out there, I am worried about hackers. By decompiling the client, would they be able to make modifications to the database, spam, or hack accounts? What would be some good ways to stop malicious individuals, or at least prevent them from doing any major damage or getting their hands on private information?
I could easily enhance my knowledge in Java, PHP, or ASP.net in case it would help.
Hosting Most likely, the database will be MySQL or MS SQL. Also, the hosting would need to be able to handle hundreds of hits per day. Also, if any other programming languages are used for the server, they would need to be supported too.
On top of all of this, I have a limited income, which could be solved by advertising or sponsorships.
I would definitely be able to set up my own server, however, I don't know how much my DSL connection can handle in case the traffic gets to be too much.
Advertising/Sponsorships Since forums often get at least hundreds of views per day, that would be an ideal market for advertising. Sadly, MochiAds only puts advertisements in games.
Are there any advertisers out there that would be willing to place advertisements in the Flash forum? Or perhaps someone would be willing to sponsor the whole arrangement? Where would I be able to get into contact with potential advertisers or sponsors?
I do not need any help as of now for programming in ActionScript, however, if anyone can help me on these topics ASAP.
Since there are several SWF decompilers out there, I am worried about hackers. By decompiling the client, would they be able to make modifications to the database, spam, or hack accounts?
Never trust the client. All security should be enforced server-side. If your client has direct access to the database, you're setting yourself up for grief.
Are there any advertisers out there that would be willing to place advertisements in the Flash forum?
I suspect you'll run into trouble here. Besides the problem with Mochi that you mentioned, I think traditionally web advertisers (including the ubiquitous AdSense) will balk at having their ads embedded in a Flash application.
Anyway, why Flash? Given the slow and text-centric nature of forums, they seem more geared toward regular HTML (and maybe a bit of Javascript to spice things up) rather than full-blown Flash.
Why on earth would you want to make a forum in Flash? Search engines will not be able to access your content easily, of at all. Plus, Flash is not the best choice for communicating with SQL servers as it will add another level to the process. You're better off just making one from PHP/ASP, HTML+CSS, and a mySQL db. Even then, you would still be wasting a lot of unneeded time as you could set up a very secure forum in a couple clicks.
Just get yourself phpbb, vBulletin, etc. and get an add-on for ad placement.
I actually it'd be easier to develop a newer style of a BBS using just PHP and Javascript. It'd be a hell of a lot easier than doing it in flash, and not to mention more secure.
