discussion groups

, one of the most popular brand of Internet forum software]].An Internet forum is a web application which provides for discussion, often in conjunction with online communitycommunities. Older forums date back to around 1995, following the newsgroups and bulletin board systems which were widespread in the 1980s and 1990s. Popular discussion topics include technology, computer games, and politics, but forums are available for any number of different topics.Internet forums are also commonly referred to as web forums, message boards, discussion boards, discussion groups, or simply, forums.

History - Early Internet forums could be described as a web version of a newsgroup or electronic mailing list; allowing people to post messages and comment on other messages. Later developments emulated the different newsgroups or individual lists, providing more than one forum, dedicated to a particular topic. As of late, forum software developers have actively encouraged the creation of open source plugins which can be integrated with the software as a means of expansion. Generally, these plugins provide more interaction for users and may add special features to the forum software.

Culture - Internet forums are prevalent in several developed countrydeveloped countries. In terms of countable posts, Japan is far in the lead with over two million posts per day on their largest forum, 2channel. The United States does not have any one large forum, but instead several hundred thousand smaller forums, the largest of which are Gaia Online, IGN and GameFAQs. China, the Netherlands, and France are also home to hundreds of independent forums. Some countries such as Finland and Sweden do not have many prevalent forums despite having open and easily available Internet access. As of yet no study has been done on the prevalence of forums in countries around the world.Small forums are often based around a single subject. Usually there is an "off-topic" forum where users can post any items they find interesting (in Japanese, ''neta'') or play "forum games". Larger Internet forums are in general more subject to public conflicts between users, leetspeak, and private jokes. Depending on the level of moderation there may also be conflicts between users and administrators.Like other forms of online communication, Internet forums are home to heated exchanges and rivalries. Often, administrators ask users to conform to netiquette; if they leave a forum unmoderated it may degenerate and become useless for discussion.

Software features - The barebones definition of a forum is the ability for people to start threads and reply to other people's threads. (Someone posts a message which is visible to everyone, you read it and then have the option to post a reply which will also be visible to everyone, thus a discussion can build up without all users having to be online at the same time.) However, most forum software provides considerably more than this.Most forum software allows more than one forum to be created. These ''forums'' are containers for threads started by the community. Depending on the permissions of community members as defined by the board's administrator, they can post replies to existing threads and start new threads as they wish.Forum software can be broadly divided between those which allow visitors to post anonymously, and those which attribute posts to a registered username.For username-based software, visitors register using a username and a password, and possibly an email address for validation purposes. In these types of forums, the members are often able to customise both how their posts display to others (for example avatar (virtual reality)avatars, user profiles and signatures) and how the board appears to them (such as different themes). Username-based software may provide for anonymity by allowing visitors to post without registration.Anonymous forums may offer full anonymity or pseudonymity, but no registration. In order to provide the same set of features as registration-based forums, anonymous forums especially in Asia use a system of tripcodes, derived by encrypting a plaintext password put in the name field. Although blog comment pages are not Internet forums, they often use the anonymous system for the sake of simplicity.A forum administrator typically has the ability to edit, delete, move or otherwise modify any thread on the forum. These forum moderatormoderator privileges are often able to be delegated to other forum members. The reasons for having these abilities are often to allow peace to be maintained and the rules to be enforced. The ways in which the moderation system works depends on the board software—for example, they can be directly appointed by the board administrator or chosen by an automated process combined with meta-moderation systemmeta-moderation (moderation of the moderators). Many other systems exist and the board administrator is free to choose rules for their own forums.Threads in a forum are either ''flat'' (posts are listed in chronological order) or ''threaded'' (each post is made in reply to a parent post). Sometimes, community members have a choice on how to display threads.Forum software packages are widely available on the Internet, and are written in a variety of programming languages, such as PHP, Perl, Java programming languageJava and Active Server PagesASP. The configuration and records of posts can be stored in text files or in a database. Each package offers a different variety of features, from the most basic providing text-only postings to more advanced packages offering multimedia support and formatting code (usually known as BBCode). Many packages can be integrated easily into an existing website to allow visitors to post comments on articles.

Comparison with other web applications - One significant difference between forums and electronic mailing lists is that mailing lists automatically deliver new messages to the subscriber, while forums require the member to visit the website, and check for new posts. Due to the possibility of members missing replies to threads they are interested in, many modern forums offer an "email notification" feature, where an email is automatically sent to all users who have chosen to be notified of new replies, informing them that a new post has been made.The main difference between newsgroups and forums is that additional software is usually required to participate in newsgroups, a newsreader. Visiting and participating in forums normally requires no additional software beyond the web browser.Forums, unlike wikis, do not allow people to edit other's messages. Some users, however, may be given this ability in order to moderate content (for example, if spam is posted to the forum).Unlike weblogs, forums typically allow anyone to start a new discussion (known as a thread), or reply to an existing thread. The range of topics discussed on forums is typically wider—as a website running forum software may have more than one forum, each dedicated to a different topic. While many weblogs allow visitors to post comments in reply, the number of people who can create entries is normally very limited, and the range of viewpoints and beliefs on a weblog are also limited.Forums differ from chat rooms and instant messaging because they usually deal with one topic and personal exchanges are typically discouraged. Participants in Internet forums should realize that what they have to say will be public knowledge for years to come. For example, Google's ''Groups'' (formerly DejaNews) is an archive of Usenet articles dating back to 1981. Forum archives are sometimes the best way to find an answer to very obscure questions, such as how to fix a particular computer problem.Western-style forum software places a heavy amount of emphasis on identity, with user registration, custom titles and avatars being standard features. This makes the tone of discussion very different from the more anonymous 2channel style boards; the burdens of status and persona encourage, alternately, highly formal discourse and close personal relationships. The behavior of moderators shapes overall tendencies towards one direction or the other.

See also -

Comparison of Internet forum software

eGovernment

List of Internet forum software

Online chat

Online consultation

Shoutbox (also known as a "tagboard")

External links -

dmoz.org - Message Boards in the Open Directory Project

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Simantov - the international jewish matchmaker -
the international jewish matchmaker work worldwide since 1976 from our ofice in Frankfurt am Main - Germany
http://www.simantov.de/

Wendy's Multiple Sclerosis Site
Personal website providing a starting point for those seeking Multiple Sclerosis resources, information, and support on the internet.
http://www.wendys-ms-site.com/

Topica
A free service that allows you to find, manage and participate in email lists and discussion groups.
http://www.topica.com/

Liszt, the mailing list directory
Find that rare list on any topic!
http://www.liszt.com/

Towson University
The second largest university in Maryland, located near Baltimore. Offers programs in the arts, sciences, business, communications, humanities, health professions, education and computer information systems.
http://www.towson.edu/

Thesaurus Linguae Graecae
Selling CD-ROMs containing digitised versions of all extant Greek texts from Homer to 600 AD
http://www.tlg.uci.edu/

The Comprehensive Internet Reference
Includes: discussion and information lists on the Internet, Usenet newsgroups, FTP sites, computer products, vendors and Internet and Web design companies.
http://www.tile.net