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Forums are an online discussion areas
where you can post and read messages from other
users with similar interests, usually in an
organized
thread layout. Many
Web sites today also build communities
around their site by offering discussion forums where
users can
post messages, reply and discuss specific topics or simply
introduce themselves to other forum members. These online communication
spaces are frequently called online forums, discussion
forums or just forums.
The forum itself is an application that
"holds" discussions and user-generated content that is
contributed by the community of forum members. Most forums
will have moderators, sometimes called
mods for short, who are users
that have access to remove
unrelated posts, rude comments,
spam messages posted to the
forum or even remove unruly users themselves. They can lock
threads
from further discussion and generally oversee that the forum runs
smoothly for all participants.
Things to Consider Before Joining
When using an online forum, it's important to remember that public
forums can be accessed by anyone from anywhere in the
world, and as such there may be some language barriers to consider
when posting and replying to messages. Also, a forum will be
centered around a specific topic (e.g., small businesses,
online games, a hobby such as collecting, sports, and so on).
Also, be sure that when you register
for and use a forum you're joining one where you have an interested
in the designated topic. If you want to discuss your new AMD gaming
rig, don't join an "All About Intel" forum, for example. You
can also spend some time reading older forum posts to get an idea of
the types of discussions that take place and to see how active a
forum is before joining. Typical Forum Layouts
Using the discussion forums hosted on PracticallyNetworked.com
as an example, you can see how the discussion board is laid out. The main
page of the forum displays important information, such a
FAQ which will
explain what the forum is for and what type of posts are and are not
allowed, as well as a the link to register for an account. Many forums will
allow you to read the messages, but won't allow you to reply or post your own until you have
registered.
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Key Terms To
Understanding Online Discussion Forums:
Related Articles
on Webopedia:
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The main page also lists the different forums available. In the first
screenshot below you will see forum discussion areas for General Discussions, Sharing,
Wireless Networks, Alternative Networks and so on. This helps users find
the forum discussion most related to what they want to read about.
Selecting Wireless Networks takes you to the list of threads that have
been posted to this forum. In the second screenshot below, you can see the
thread title, when the last post was made to this thread, how many forum
users have replied to a particular thread and also how many have viewed the
thread. The "New Thread" button lets registered members start a new thread
in the forum. Be sure to search to ensure your topic or question has not
already been covered before starting a new thread.
Screenshot showing the main forums discussion page. |
Screenshot showing the
threads in a specific forum discussion. |
PracticallyNetworked.com Discussion Forum screenshots.
Click each image to view a larger screenshot. |
Netiquette: Good Forum Etiquette
An important term that you should be aware of
and know about is "netiquette".
This term is a contraction of Internet etiquette, and it's really the
etiquette guidelines for posting messages to online services. Netiquette
covers not only rules to maintain civility in discussions (i.e., avoiding
flames), but also
special guidelines unique to the electronic nature of forum messages. In
most cases, netiquette is enforced by the forum administrator. One of the biggest issues facing those unfamiliar with using
online forums is that they may not even be aware of what constitutes
netiquette. To get you started with using online forums here are some tips
to get you started and keep you from being banned on forums;
- Do Stay On Topic.
Many people use forums for knowledge gathering as well as social
interactions. Forum posts and threads can be read by hundreds or thousands
of users, and as such it's important to read the topic of a particular
discussion and keep your posts related to that topic. If you are looking for
general chat and comments, look in the forums for an
off-topic discussion
area.
- Don't Be A Troll.
A "troll" is a
person who breaks netiquette on a regular basis by posted inflammatory
messages (called a flame) when responding to other users in the forums. Trolls are also
users who will find older flame-filled threads on a forum and reply to them
just to get users worked up again.
- Do Turn That
Caps Lock Key Off. When you type a post in all capital letters
you are going to annoy other forum users. Capital letters are viewed as
shouting when communicating online, and its considered rude to do.
- Don't Double Post.
When using Internet forums it annoys other users when you
post the same message more than once, in more than on discussion thread.
If you make a post and no one replies, then leave it at that. Reposting
the same message or slightly edited versions of the same message will
not earn you any respect from other forum users, and in fact it may earn
you warnings from the
moderator.
- Do Search Before Posting.
Before posting a question or asking for help on a particular topic, do use
the forum search option to make sure this question has not already been
asked and answered by other users. Even if your question does not appear in
the thread list, it may still be available as an
archived
topic in the
forum.
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DID YOU KNOW...
If you have ever been in a chat room, on a discussion forum, or
received an instant message or text message from someone that
seemed to be in its own foreign language, this Webopedia
Text Messaging Abbreviations Quick Reference will help you
decipher the text chat lingo by providing the definitions to
over 700 frequently used chat abbreviations. |
By Vangie Beal
Writer, www.Webopedia.com
Last updated: April 18, 2008
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