BuddyPress.org

I have a few special interest sites that are all for creative people (writers, artists, musicians, etc). I’d like to use BuddyPress to link the sites as a network; however, I’m a complete newbie to BuddyPress and could really use some advice on the best way to set this up.

Here’s how I would (ideally) like the site to work:

– Main domain (domain1.com) is a splash page that shows activity from across the different sections. From there, the member can drill down into the sections (music, art, etc.)

– Sections can be accessed directly by either subdomain (ex: http://music.domain1.com) or full domain (ex: http://writers.com)

– Members can join one or more sections. Their username/account/info/avatar etc is managed from one spot and carries across all the sections where they are members.

– Ideally a “single sign on” to the sections (even across domains) where the user is a member

– Each section has its own forums, but also share one or more common forums that are universal between all the sections. For example, the musicians can access both the “music” and “general discussion” forums. The artists can access the “art” and the “general discussion” forums. The general discussion forum is shared, but the member needs to join either the music or art sections to post/reply in those forums.

All that said, what is the best way to configure WordPress/BuddyPress to make this happen? Will I need to use multisite, or will one installation do?

Any advice or pointers in the right direction are greatly appreciated. 🙂