An Internet forum is a facility on the World Wide Web for holding discussions, or the web application software used to provide the facility. Web-based forums, which date from around 1995, perform a similar function as the dial-up bulletin boards and Internet newsgroups that were numerous in the 1980s and 1990s. A sense of virtual community often develops around forums that have regular users. Technology, computer games, and politics are popular areas for forum themes, but there are forums for a huge number of different topics .

Internet forums are also commonly referred to as web forums, message boards, discussion boards, discussion forums, discussion groups, bulletin boards (but see also dial-up bulletin boards), fora (the proper Latin plural) or simply forums.

Culture

---

Internet forums are prevalent in several developed countries. In terms of countable posts, Japan is far in the lead with over two million posts per day on their largest forum, 2channel. The United States does not have any one large forum, but instead several hundred thousand smaller forums, the largest of which are GameFAQs, Gaia Online, and IGN. Other countries such as China, the Netherlands, and France are also home to hundreds of independent forums. Some countries such as Finland and Sweden do not have many prevalent forums despite having open and easily available Internet access. As of yet no study has been done on the prevalence of forums in countries around the world. It is also dubious as to whether any country has its own fora, as - especially in the English language - contributors to a forum often come from outside the country in which the forum is hosted. There is often not a 1-1 relationship between languages and countries: for example, English language fora are contributed to by people all over the world, whilst Japanese language fora are likely to be contributed to only by Japanese people, but Japanese people also contribute to English language fora, so there is no 1-1 relationship between Japanese language fora and Japanese people contributing to fora.

More on [ Internet forum ]

Business Applications - RSS Sponsorship

HP's first 13.3-inch Pavilion vs. the competition
Wed, 01 Oct 2008 12:34:18 -0700
HP is shipping its first laptop with a 13.3-inch widescreen display. The HP Pavilion dv3500t series is already available on HP's site starting at $1,000, and a slightly higher-end configuration, the dv3520nr, is available for pre-order at Best Buy for $1,200. Other sites have reported that this model will be...
A new mystery: What's Microsoft got up its Office Live sleeve?
Wed, 01 Oct 2008 12:22:06 -0700
It sounds like Microsoft has yet another Professional Developers Conference PDC announcement percolating -- beyond the Windows 7, Oslo, cloud OS (Red Dog/Zurich) and Mesh Platform stuff about which the company already has been dropping hints. by Mary Jo Foley
Google talks efficient data centers
Wed, 01 Oct 2008 12:18:32 -0700
Google is known as a search titan, but its real business is running data centers. On Wednesday, Google handed out a few key tips as it touted its data center efficiency and sustainability efforts. In a blog post, Google's senior vice president of operations Urs Hölzle outlined...
Apple strikes back against Psystar, asks for counterclaim to be dismissed
Wed, 01 Oct 2008 12:17:23 -0700
Apple has hit back against claims made by Mac-clone maker Psystar that the company is operating in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act and the Clayton Antitrust Act and will be asking the U.S. District Court judge to dismiss to dismiss the counterclaim. by Adrian Kingsley-Hughes
Microsoft HealthVault offers the nickel tour
Wed, 01 Oct 2008 12:08:55 -0700
Nolan insists that "third party applications" will be what get HealthVault over the top, and it's in making those available that he hopes the system will prove its value. by Dana Blankenhorn
Student Technology Day: "Windows Cloud" revealed
Wed, 01 Oct 2008 11:47:18 -0700
Steve Ballmer was next door in the Queen Elizabeth Hall talking to the TechNet/TechEd people about Office Live, and mentioning that there would be a major announcement at the PDC on the 27th October. Once he finished there, he popped next door and told us a similar thing. ...

Subscribe to Software RSS feed