What is Forum

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A Internet forum is a bulletin board system in the form of a discussion site.[1] From a technological stand point, forums[note 1] or boards are web applications managing user-generated content.[2][3] Forums allow anonymous visitors to view the contents and consist of a group of contributors who've registered into the system, becoming known as members. The members submit topics for discussion (known as threads) and communicate with each other using publicly visible messages (referred to as posts) or private messageing.[1]

People participating in an internet forum will usually build bonds with each other and interest groups will easily form around a topics' discussion, subjects dealt within or around sections in the forum. The term community refers to the segment of the online community participating in the activities of the web site they reside in. It is also used to refer to the group interested in the topic on the internet, rather then just the site.

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. The language used on forums is generally not limited by any set rules and standards. Personal opinion is commonly more dominant then informative opinion or documented one; often expressing your personal opinion over others is encouraged or implied. Because of their volatile and random behaviour it's not uncommon for nonsense or unsocial behaviour to sprout as people loose temper and try to fight each other.

Because replies to a topic are more often then not wording aimed at someones' point of view, discussion will usually go slightly off into several directions as people question each others validity, sources etc, with like to be interpreted phrases. Circular discussion and ambiguity in replies can carry out arguments for several tens of posts of a thread eventually ending when everyone gives up or another similar debate takes it over. It's not uncommon for a style over substance or ad hominem debates to be the ones to take it over. Other problems on forums include catch-22 logic, regress arguments, vagueness, counterfactual history arguments etc. Most issues arise from a poor understanding or ignorance of argumentation theory and differences in values of the participants.