symbiotic

My family lives in Charlottesville but I'm actually in Madison WI. If you get something going let me know and maybe I can check it out whenever I visit. I think it would be a great idea to get something started in the area. Email: aero4x [at] gmail [dot] com

It kind of depends on the complexity and size of the site. You want to make sure you can have it done in a reasonable timeframe.

I'm doing all of the development on my site http://collegeacb.com but its a really simple concept (basically just a forum). One thing I have found really helpful though is having a cheerleader. Nominate someone to keep you focused (even if they don't do anything else) so that you don't give up half way through.

We have been considering a "crush list" feature where students can add the email address of their crush to a private list. If two people add each other then their identities are revealed. The one thing we are worried about is the possibility for abuse (like someone adding everyone they know to see if there are any matches).

Thanks for all of the comments everyone. To address some of the issues:

You don't have to log in to view posts, only to make them. This is one thing that I think guides the discussion in a more meaningful direction than boredat/juicycampus. We have community moderation, so that if your post is reported a couple times by other users then it is removed and your posting privileges are temporarily suspended. This helps cut down on the excessively slanderous posts that you see on juicycampus.

As for it being a fad... At my school we had a live journal board and it has remained popular for at least 3 years now. I'm pretty convinced that if done right, we will be able to keep the attention of the student body. Not to mention that each year there's a whole new class of freshman who the idea may be completely new to.

PS: My co-founder was on NPR talking about some of these issues. You can check it out here... http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9394823...

Click on the "Listen Now" button at the top (next to the red button)

I'm currently working on a self funded startup with a few other people. It's not so bad, although legal fees are the majority of our costs. The thing I love so much about the web is that many ideas don't require any initial funding.

An easy way to debug is to just echo $type for a file that you want to allow and see what it is :)

pystar.com -> "Database Error: Unable to connect to the database:Could not connect to MySQL"

Are they down already?

I agree that social networks need better business strategies in general, but if the advertisers are making more money than the social networking sites, why make the SN site in the first place? Why not just try to beak your way into porno, gambling, credit repair (the list goes on) business and just sell adds like everyone else?

I think the answer is that we believe SN sites should be able to make more money than these other businesses. The person who figures out how to make that happen will be rich, but I don't think the answer is to just add another business onto your SN.

Have you checked out socialpicks.com? Sounds kinda like what your doing. I know about it because I was working on a similar idea that never took off a few years ago. Gotta be aware of the competition :)

Thanks for all of the comments. doubleplus' link was particularly helpful. I should clarify that I already have a prototype in PHP and was thinking about switching to Python for the beta/release version if it seems worth it.

I'm working on a project to help schools do this, although its a bit more specific. If you want me to set up a prototype board at your school or want some more information shoot me an email (aero4x@gmail.com). I'd be happy to set it up for you, especially because I'm looking to expand my idea.

But... if you want to do this as a project for your self then I would suggest trying to set up a phpBB forum (http://www.phpbb.com/). It's open source, but sometimes a bit tricky to set up if you don't have any prior experience.

But I don't see the taurens defining feature in any of the moovies! Peanut butter jelly time anyone?

I was thinking about doing something like this, but web based with code shared, so users can search for code that others have saved. I don't know if it's still worth it...

yeah xirium that was it, thanks!