Now in its fourth version, WebBoard can do nearly everything a small business owner might want in a bulletin-board system. Open-sourceniks should know that even though WebBoard runs in any current Web browser no matter the platform, the WebBoard server runs only on Windows. I've tested it on Windows 98 with mediocre results and NT with excellent results. If your NT system runs Microsoft's SQL Server 6.5 or 7.x, you can step up, but the MSDE works well with simultaneous requests and complicated customizations. WebBoard accepts whatever level of authentication and access you want.
Members can post via e-mail or Usenet newsgroups.
The default WebBoard user interface is bland, but it's intentional. You can use either JavaScript or VBScript, too, so long as you remember to tell WebBoard's registry what you're doing. And if you insist on wasting time hosting chats no matter how much I've discouraged it, WebBoard includes a JavaScript-based chat system that works as well as any such system. But if you expect conversation to be a big part of your business' Web site, check out WebBoard.