Installation
Setting up a new MetaPhilter based community is relatively simple. It requires some knowledge of SQL databases (at least the creation of a database if one does not exist on your server).
Through the use of the template system, MetaPhilter does not require you to modify any PHP scripts. It is recommended that you don't. Doing so may potentially cause loss of your work when upgrading to future versions. You should add functionality by creating (or using existing) MetaPhilter plugins. You should also know how to change directory permissions in the case your server requires special permissions for server scripts to write to the filesystem. If you need help with any of the above, email MetaPhilter and we'll see what can be done for you.
Requirements
Creating your own MetaPhilter community requires a server running PHP 4 and MySQL, both of which are available for free on a variety of platforms.
For uploading the system, you'll need an FTP client (assuming you're installing remotely). For Windows users, I recommend SmartFTP; it's free.
Preparation
Before uploading any of the MetaPhilter system, you need to have an SQL database ready for use. This database should have a user with read/write permissions.
You do not need to create a new database if you'd like to incorporate MetaPhilter structure into an existing one.
If you're re-installing MetaPhilter, you can choose to let the existing data remain unchanged.
Uploading
Connect to your server and choose/create a directory for your MetaPhilter system to run from.
Locate the 'release' directory included with this source release of MetaPhilter and upload its contents. You may chose to rename the 'philter' path. This is a directory containing the default templates included with the release.
Set the permissions of the uploaded MetaPhilter system directory (default is 'mp') to 777 (read/write/execute for all).
Configuration
Point your browser to 'configure.php' inside the path you chose for your MetaPhilter system. This is a quick configuration script that will ask you to fill out some properties of your MetaPhilter community.
When you get to the end of the script, it will build your system's required include script. You will be able to re-edit the configuration of your Philter at any time by returning to this script and logging in with your MySQL username and password.
After completing the configuration of your Philter, you should proceed to its new user index (default is 'newuser.php') and create a profile. The first user added to the database automatically becomes the Philter's Super Admin.