setting up a forum; error message

sether

i'm trying to set up a discussion forum. i'm a complete novice; i'm using vanilla, godaddy hosting, and the forum is to be at cumbric.net first, this is the instruction i'm trying to follow: [I][B]Once you have your file permissions set up properly, open up your web browser of choice and point yourself to the location on your server where you uploaded Vanilla to. It will automatically point you towards the setup script. On the first page here, you will be reminded once again to make sure all of the proper files and folders have read and write access.[/B][/I] i presume the location to go in my browser is the same location where i'd go to sign into the discussion forum once its all uploaded etc? - ie. cumbric.net ? but if i go there, i get this error message: [I][B]Forbidden You don't have permission to access / on this server. Additionally, a 404 Not Found error was encountered while trying to use an ErrorDocument to handle the request. Apache/1.3.33 Server at www.cumbric.net Port 80[/B][/I] so does this mean i've done the previous bit wrong? ie i havent granted the right permissions properly?

Stash

Might want to try using HTML and setting the Format comment as to "Html"...

sether

(deleted text)

WallPhone

Just highlight the conf folder inside the cumbric folder. However, since you are getting that forbidden message at the top-level folder, you might have to change the permissions there also--to allow read and execute (755).

Another possible cause of issues like this is accidentally uploading the Vanilla files as binary instead of ascii.

Stash was suggesting you use <i><b> blah blah </b></i> tags to mark up your posts.

sether

thanks wallphone, i've changed the cumbric folder to 755
i also reuploaded everything, specifying the format as 'text' (which i understand is the same as ascii) -- previously i'd uploaded with the format set to 'automatic'.

but i'm still getting that error message.

i'd like to double check:
does this instruction:
Once you have your file permissions set up properly, open up your web browser of choice and point yourself to the location on your server where you uploaded Vanilla to. It will automatically point you towards the setup script. On the first page here, you will be reminded once again to make sure all of the proper files and folders have read and write access.

mean that i should go to www.cumbric.net and there i should find 'the setup script'
?

(its only about ten minutes since i uploaded, does it need longer than that before the error message disappears?)

WallPhone

You're right about what should be happening... it seems the server is confused. Most changes on the server should start working immediately. Another possible cause is that your uploading to a folder that isin't web-accessible-- if you see a folder named www, html, htdocs, wwwroot or something like that, that is probably where Vanilla should be uploaded. If you don't see anything like that, check with your host or see if there is a tutorial or manual that explains where the web root is in your hosting package.

LawnMowerMan

This is definitely a directory location issue. What directory are you uploading to when you log in with your username and password. I'm familiar with godaddy and have a dedicated server there and a few other locations.