Hello JT,
It's a real shame that you don't have access everywhere.
Installing a Joomla + forum is not difficult in principle – the real challenge usually lies in maintenance and upkeep.
From what I've read so far, there are a few problems with the forum. Some functions do not work correctly or have been deactivated due to errors. In addition, the forum is often unavailable, which I find very unfortunate, as the community suffers as a result.
It may be possible to create a new folder under root and create a new database (the database software is already available). In this new environment, you could reinstall everything and set it up cleanly on a trial basis.
The new folder could be assigned a subdomain (e.g., forum-test.xyz.org). Everything could be installed and configured there at your leisure. Once everything is running smoothly and error-free, the subdomain could be adjusted accordingly and the old forum could be left as an archive – for reference and review.
I completely understand that your time is limited—we all feel the same way. Nevertheless, I would be delighted if we could find a solution together. This would certainly be very valuable for the community.
I would also set up a Joomla + forum myself, but I only have 5 GB of web storage—unfortunately, that's not enough. Therefore, it would make sense to implement it on your server.
Best regards
Mücke
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