[gmyachtsman]

Thanks, etones. I replaced the php3 version with php. In addition to installing the php files in place of the php3 file, I had to edit my database to replace all the "php3" references with "php". The results were very good!! Just about all my changes were preserved.

Then I went on to install VBSpiderfriend. It is working fine now, but I had the following problems:

1. I had not realized that VB adds a /~databasename folder into the file path. I was trying to make the path work that was in my own directory (not what actually shows up on the URL itself).

2. I had named my archive folder "webarchive" instead of "archive". Before I fixed (1) above, while my first page list of forums showed up fine, when I clicked through, I got a standard 404 file not found error. After I fixed (1) above I got a file not found error right on the front page (this was a different error template...one I had modified for my own site's use). What I learned: the archive folder must have that exact name.

3. Every time I uploaded it, my .htaccess file would disappear without a trace. But I guessed it was there, since it kept overwriting itself and now it is working (though still invisible).

Next for the customizing, the outside links, better Meta tags, etc (the easy parts).

Thanks, Outgrow, for a beauty.