28-04-2014, 11:08 AM
Internet forum
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INTRODUCTION
An Internet forum, or message board, is an online discussion site where people can hold
conversations in the form of posted messages.[1] They differ from chat rooms in that messages are at
least temporarily archived. Also, depending on the access level of a user or the forum set-up, a posted
message might need to be approved by a moderator before it becomes visible.
Forums have a specific set of jargon associated with them; e.g. a single conversation is called a
"thread".
A discussion forum is hierarchical or tree-like in structure: a forum can contain a number of subforums,
each of which may have several topics. Within a forum's topic, each new discussion started is called a
thread, and can be replied to by as many people as so wish.
Forum structure
A forum consists of a tree like directory structure. The top end is "Categories". A forum can be divided into categories for the relevant discussions. Under the
categories are sub-forums and these sub-forums can further have more sub-forums. The topics (commonly called threads) come under the lowest level of
sub-forums and these are the places under which members can start their discussions or posts. Logically forums are organized into a finite set of generic topics
(usually with one main topic) driven and updated by a group known as members, and governed by a group known as moderators.[citation needed] It can also
have a graph structure.[8] All message boards will use one of three possible display formats. Each of the three basic message board display formats: Non-
Threaded/Semi-Threaded/Fully Threaded, has its own advantages and disadvantages. If messages are not related to one another at all a Non-Threaded format
is best. If a user has a message topic and multiple replies to that message topic a semi-threaded format is best. If a user has a message topic and replies to that
message topic, and replies to replies, then a fully threaded format is best.[9]
User groups
Internally, Western-style forums organize visitors and logged in members into user groups. Privileges and rights are given based on these groups. A user of the
forum can automatically be promoted to a more privileged user group based on criteria set by the administrator.[10] A person viewing a closed thread as a
member will see a box saying he does not have the right to submit messages there, but a moderator will likely see the same box granting him access to more
than just posting messages.[11]
An unregistered user of the site is commonly known as a guest or visitor. Guests are typically granted access to all functions that do not require database
alterations or breach privacy. A guest can usually view the contents of the forum or use such features as read marking, but occasionally an administrator will
disallow visitors to read their forum as an incentive to become a registered member.[note 1] A person who is a very frequent visitor of the forum, a section or
even a thread is referred to as a lurker and the habit is referred to as lurking. Registered members often will refer to themselves as lurking in a particular
location, which is to say they have no intention of participating in that section but enjoy reading the contributions to it.
Discussion
Forums prefer a premise of open and free discussion and often adopt de facto standards. Most common topics on forums include questions, comparisons,
polls of opinion as well as debates. It is not uncommon for nonsense or unsocial behavior to sprout as people lose temper, especially if the topic is
controversial. Poor understanding of differences in values of the participants is a common problem on forums. Because replies to a topic are often worded
aimed at someone's point of view, discussion will usually go slightly off into several directions as people question each other's validity, sources and so on.
Circular discussion and ambiguity in replies can extend for several tens of posts of a thread eventually ending when everyone gives up or attention spans waver
and a more interesting subject takes over. It is not uncommon for debate to end in ad hominem attacks.
Other forum features
An ignore list allows members to hide posts of other members that they do not want to see or have a problem with. In most implementations, they are referred
to as foe list or ignore list. Usually the posts are not hidden, but minimized with only a small bar indicating a post from the user on the ignore list is
there.[18][19] Almost all internet forums include a member list, which allows display of all forum members, with integrated search feature. Some forums will not
list members with 0 posts, even if they have activated their accounts.
Many forums allow users to give themselves an avatar. An avatar is an image that appears beside all of a user's posts, in order to make the user more
recognizable. The user may upload the image to the forum database, or may provide a link to an image on a separate website. Each forum has limits on the
height, width, and data size of avatars that may be used; if the user tries to use an avatar that is too big, it may be scaled down or rejected.
Similarly, most forums allow users to define a signature (sometimes called a sig), which is a block of text, possibly with BBCode, which appears at the
bottom of all of the user's posts. There is a character limit on signatures, though it may be so high that it is rarely hit. Often the forum's moderators impose
manual rules on signatures to prevent them from being obnoxious (for example, being extremely long or having flashing images), and issue warnings or bans to
users who break these rules. Like avatars, signatures may improve the recognizability of a poster. They may also allow the user to attach information to all of
their posts, such as proclaiming support for a cause, noting facts about themselves, or quoting humorous things that have previously been said on the forum.
Common on forums, a subscription is a form of automated notification integrated into the software of most forums. It usually notifies either by email or on the
site when the member returns. The option to subscribe is available for every thread while logged in. Subscriptions work with read marking, namely the
property of unread, which is given to the content never served to the user by the software.
Registration or anonymity
Nearly all Internet forums require registration to post. Registered users of the site are referred to as members and are allowed to submit or send electronic
messages through the web application. The process of registration involves verification of one's age (typically over 12 is required so as to meet COPPA
requirements of American forum software) followed by a declaration of the terms of service (other documents may also be present) and a request for
agreement to said terms.[25][26][27] Subsequently, if all goes well, the candidate is presented with a web form to fill requesting at the very least a username (an
alias), password, email and validation of a CAPTCHA code.
While simply completing the registration web form is in general enough to generate an account,[note 2] the status label Inactive is commonly provided by
default until the registered user confirms the email address given while registering indeed belongs to the user. Until that time, the registered user can log in to the
new account but may not post, reply, or send private messages in the forum.