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An internet forum is a discussion area on a website where members can post and reply to topics. It differs from a blog and chat room, and requires registration and netiquette. Threads consist of member posts, and admins and moderators monitor and manage the forum.
An Internet forum is a discussion area on a website. Website members can post discussions and read and reply to other forum members’ posts. A forum can be focused on almost any topic and a sense of an online community, or virtual community, tends to develop among forum members.
This type of forum may also be called a message board, discussion group, bulletin board, or web forum, but differs from a blog, the name of a web log, as a blog is usually written by one user and usually other people’s responses to material of the blog. A forum usually allows all members to post and start new topics.
An Internet forum is also different from a chat room. Members of a chat room usually chat or communicate all at the same time, while members of a discussion group post messages for others to read each time they log in. Forums also tend to be more topic-focused than chat rooms.
Before a prospective member joins a group and posts for others, they are usually required to register. The prospective member usually has to agree to follow some online rules, sometimes called netiquette, such as respecting other members and refraining from using profanity. When a member is approved by the admin or moderator, the member usually chooses their own username and password, although a password is sometimes provided. A member-provided avatar, photograph, or image may appear below the member’s username in each post.
Separate conversations in a forum are called threads and consist of posts written by members. Members can usually edit their posts, start new topics, post in threads of their choice, and edit their profile. A profile usually lists optional information about each forum member, such as the city they are in and their interests.
An Internet forum administrator or monitor can also participate in the forum. An administrator can usually edit threads and move or delete them as needed. He or she can also usually change elements of the software in the forum. Moderators often assist the admin and monitor and steer the discussion to ensure forum rules are being 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 for post setup and storage.
