An Internet forum is a discussion area on a website. Site members can post discussions and read and reply to posts by other forum members. A forum can focus on almost any topic, and a sense of online community, or virtual community, tends to develop among forum members.
Internet forums allow members to respond to other people’s posts.
This type of forum may also be called a message board, discussion group, bulletin board, or web forum, but it differs from a blog, the name of a web log, in that a blog is usually written by a user and generally only allows replies. from other people to blog material. A forum generally allows all members to post and start new topics.
A login interface for an Internet forum.
An Internet forum is also different from a chat room. Members of a chat room often converse or communicate at the same time, while members of a newsgroup post messages for others to read each time they log in. Forums also tend to be more topic-focused than chat rooms.
Avatars can be used in an Internet forum.
Before a potential member joins a group and posts for others, they are usually required to register. The prospective member must generally agree to follow certain online rules, sometimes called network etiquette, such as respecting other members and avoiding the use of profanity. When a member is approved by the administrator or moderator, the member usually chooses their own username and password, although a password is sometimes provided. An avatar, photograph or image provided by the member may appear below the member’s username in each post.
Internet forums can provide helpful feedback to people searching for a topic.
Separate conversations in a forum are called threads and are made up of posts written by members. Members can usually edit their own posts, start new topics, post to topics of their choice, and edit their profiles. A profile usually lists optional information about each member of the forum, such as the city they are in and their interests.
An administrator or monitor of the Internet forum can also participate in the forum. An administrator can usually modify themes, as well as move or delete themes if necessary. He or she can also change software items on the forum. Moderators generally assist the administrator and monitor and guide the discussion to ensure the forum rules are followed.
Web forum software packages are written in many different programming languages, including Perl, PHP, ASP, and Java. Both text files and a database can be used to configure and store messages.
Some Internet forums are used as discussion forums where frustrations can be aired.