A forum is a place, situation, or group where people come together to exchange ideas and discuss topics, particularly those of public importance. It can be a physical meeting, a meeting center, or any conversation that is publicly available. An Internet forum, or message board, is an online discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages. These messages are usually more than one line of text and are archived at least temporarily.
Depending on the user's access level or forum settings, a moderator may need to approve a posted message before it becomes publicly visible. A forum user can be automatically promoted to a group of users with more privileges based on criteria set by the administrator. Forums are usually fully customizable, with tricks or modifications available to customize a person's forum to their needs and those of their members. When a thread or, in some cases, an entire forum becomes unstable, the result is usually uncontrolled spam in the form of one-line complaints, image macros, or an abuse of the reporting system. Users sometimes post versions of a message that are only slightly different, especially in forums where they are not allowed to edit their previous posts. In Western forums, the classic way to display a member's details (such as the name and avatar) was on the left side of the post, in a narrow column of fixed width, with the publishing controls located on the right, at the bottom of the main body, above the signature block.
Forums usually have a very strict limit on what can and cannot be attached (including the size of the files in question). Multiple posting may be unintentional; a user's browser may display an error message even though the post has been transmitted, or a user of a slow forum may become impatient and repeatedly press the submit button. Forum rules generally apply to the entire body of users and usually have pre-established exceptions, usually designating a section as an exception. For example, some forums have turned off post counts in order to emphasize quality over quantity. This encourages users to focus on providing meaningful contributions rather than simply increasing their post count. Overall, forums provide an invaluable platform for people to come together and discuss important topics.
They allow for open dialogue between members and moderators alike and provide an opportunity for users to share their thoughts and opinions with others.
