My presentation

Online Forums

For my presentation iam going to talk about online forums.
A few people have mentioned forums in their presentations and specific forums imparticular. There are hundreds of forums out their for all different kinds of things, from gardening to online gaming. Im going to give a more general overview of forums. Even if your not an avid forum user yourself everyone here should be familiar with them, in specific the csu subject forums for example.

What is a forum?

Forums are a great way of online communication but unlike forms of instant communication such as instant messaging, information on forums can be looked back on and unlike emails they can be viewed by a wider audience and it’s great because people can share their own views and opinions. A lot of people have used the term of an ‘online community’ which is essentially what an online forum is, as a forum is generally comprised of user based content.
Iam going to be using the term ‘forum’ in specific but there are a number of different names for forums. Some of these include web forums, message boards, (electronic) discussion groups, discussion forums, bulletin boards or just online forums.

The Term ‘board’ or ‘forum’ in this case refers to the entire online community. It’s within this community where you get to your ‘sub-forums’ which are like different topics or subjects. It’s the forum software which has the ability to create more then one forum inside the forum as a whole.
A good example would be to look at these forums as being containers in which members of the community can start their own threads. Forums users can then post replies to existing threads and also create their own.
Some forums allow the user to be able to choose how they want threads displayed which is also linked to the customisation of how the user can view the forum. The csu forums for example offer this feature.

There are two different types of threads in forums. They are either ‘flat’ or ‘threaded.’
‘Flat’ meaning that the posts are listed in chronological order. A ‘threaded post’ means that each post is made in reply to a parent post.

Features of forum software.

Some forum software utilises a feature which enables the threads with newer replies to be bumped to the top while threads with fewer replies or no replies are bumped down the list. However forum moderators may find this a problem in some instances where people reply in these ‘dead’ threads to move them back up the top of the list, particularly posts which have gone unreplied to.

The software of a forum is whats responsible for a user to be able to post anonymously or under a registered user name. Some of you might have noticed that in the csu general forums that there used to be an option of being able to post under an alias, though this was repeatedly abused and the feature was turned off. It was the software used that was responsible for that feature.

To register as a user on a forum it usually requires a user name and password and sometimes you will be required to submit a working email address for validation purposes.

Being a registered user on a forum opens up a wide range of features. Some of these include the customisation of how their posts look, features such as custom avatars, custom signatures (which are added to the end of the users posts) and being able to create online profiles which other users can view.

Although some forums require you to be a registered user to be able to participate in the forum, some user name based software does allow for anonymity by allowing visitors to the forum to be able to post without registering.
There are on the other hand forums which are fully anonymous and don’t require registration to the forum. However for these forums to be able to provide the same set of features as a registered based forum they use a system of trip codes which is a system of authentication which doesn’t require registration.

If we look at a blog comment page for example, they are not internet forums but they use this system of anonymity for general simplicity.

Some forums offer members a points system, so within this members can add and detract points of each other. Some online forum users would say this is a positive practice as it boosts member contributions while others see it as a negative practice as it can become a frequent cause of dispute between members. Similarly in forums such as whirlpool forums, members can gain auras however a negative aspect of this is where members with bad auras get together and try to boost each others auras which can be a loose situation where members with good auras find out and therefore they probably leave with a worse aura then when they went in.

Administrators, Moderators and Members.

Forums are made up of your administrators, your moderators and most importantly members.
In general the administrator of a forum is in charge, they have the power. They can edit, delete and modify any aspect of the forum. They can ban, add or delete members and suspend the forum from use.

Moderators on the other hand are an aid to the administrator and this roll is generally delegated to members of the forum. The roll of the moderator is basically to retain the peace in the forum and make sure all the rules of the forum are being followed. They have fewer abilities then the administrator but they often have the ability to be able to edit and/or delete threads, move threads, warn members of offences and change minor forum details.

The members of the forum are most important otherwise there would be no point of the forum. Members have basic rights. For example the ability to edit their own posts, post in threads, start new topics and change their settings.
Most forums have the feature of member avatars. An avatar is basically a small picture which is located next to the members name or alias. Members can also choose to have a custom signature which I brought up earlier which is a comment or quote for example which is automatically added to the end of their posts.

Forum Etiquette

Generally among forum users one should use a certain forum etiquette. One example of this is double posting. Even though there are no rules against this it is often frowned upon. Double posting refers to posting twice in a row without another user separating the post or editing the previous post. Where it is possible to edit your own posts it is considered good forum etiquette to edit your previous post to include your new comments rather then just creating a whole new post.
Double posting often occurs when the exact same post is repeated in the same thread. This may happen due to the software not working properly or also when a user has a bad connection for example and have became impatient and clicked the submit or post button more then once.

Effects of regular forum participation.

Regular forum participation can have many benefits for some users, some of which may include, intellectual exchange, learning new ideas and refining old ones, enjoying community membership, influencing the evolution of a forum, contributing to others, making new friends and contacts, new business leads, keeping up with current events and learning about new opportunities.

Though there may also be some negative aspects of excessive forum usage. These negative aspects of which may include reduced concentration and focus, reduced productivity, chronic procrastination, increased pessimism and/or apathy, being distracted by endless debates and idle gossip, gradually substituting tribal group think for ones own intelligence, impaired social skills, neglected relationships and a weakened social circle ( which is a consequence of substituting online socialisation for face-to-face conversations) reduced self-esteem, career and income may suffer, and the inevitable forum addiction.

Making a profit with forums.

Though it is also useful to know that forums can also be very profitable to ones business. This can be done by adding one to your own website which in turn will draw more users to the site. However if you don’t have the time or resources to add a forum to your site you can use what is called a ‘soft’ method of promoting your website, blog or business by posting interesting topics in already existing forums that members would want to read and then displaying your links subtly at the end of your post in the signature. This method is considered acceptable by the online community as you are not spamming advertisements all over the place.

However you should remember that forums are not intended for that purpose and obvious promotional posts would be self defeating in the end as they only lead to a negative image.