Web forum

Web forum

Description

Web forums are one of the oldest uses of the Internet. They provide a means for people to post and comment on messages. Messages can include narratives, requests and offers of advice, or any other topics of discussion. Typically, web forums are established around a specific topic and subdivided into subtopic forums. They can be unmoderated (i.e., any post is acceptable), user moderated (i.e., a community reviews posts and votes on whether posts are removed), or expert/owner moderated, (i.e., a select group of users decides the appropriateness of posts).

Strengths

Web forums, particularly those that are well structured and focus on a specific topic, can foster a strong sense of community and build a large knowledge base around a particular topic. Web forums are particularly useful for capturing in-depth discussions in an organized way. Web forums can archive history, and are selective in that the audience that participates has elected to do so.

Weaknesses

Web forums tend to be less useful for time-sensitive information, shorter communications, and announcements, as many users of web forums only visit the forums to ask questions or look-up specific information.

Examples

Phidot (http://www.phidot.org/forum/) is an extremely popular web forum devoted to the discussion of statistical ecology. In the forum, many prominent statisticians answer and discuss users questions about statistical models and software.

More information

Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_Forum)

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