Java Glossary : forum

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forum

A forum is like a old BBS Bulletin Board System, where people can post public messages on various topics, and everyone can get to read them and comment on them. Unlike newsgroups, forums are hosted on a single webserver. Forums have the following advantages over newsgroups:

messages can be formatted, with bold, italic, smileys etc.
somebody is in charge. They can boot out obnoxious people and remove spamming posts.
Typically there is far less quoting of previous messages. You can follow threads back by clicking.
You don't have to talk your ISP into carrying it.

Forums have the following disadvantages:

You have to be online to read or post.
It is harder to find them. There are master lists of newsgroups.
Google does not index them as well as newsgroups.

Like a forum, a blog is also hosted on a website. A forum is more formal, with clearly defined topics and threads. Forums are usually open on the public where blogs are often restricted to read/write by a few.

blog ¤ newsgroups ¤ Opera Forums on the Opera browser ¤ Sun Forums on Java

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