What Are Forums?
Forums are one of the lesser-known marketing techniques that can increase traffic and sales on your website. Forums are an instrument used to communicate and collaborate with others. They are like social mixers, where everyone is on an equal level, socializing and discussing with others. You must be registered to post in forums and some of the forums are not seen unless you are logged in.
Internet forums are also commonly referred to as Web forums, message boards, discussion boards, electronic discussion groups, discussion forums, bulletin boards, or simply forums. Messages within sub-forums are displayed either in chronological order or as threaded discussions. Discussion forums are also referred to as “threaded discussion lists” or “bulletin boards”.
Forums differ from chat rooms and instant messaging in that forum participants do not have to be online simultaneously to receive or send messages. Forum etiquette can vary on different forums and they have become a common feature on many websites. They can be “closed” or “open” in terms of membership.
“Closed” means an administrator decides who can participate, while “open” means anyone can sign on to the forum. Forum categories represent a collection of forums as well as other categories. They are the areas where individual discussions take place as a listing of topics. Posts are easy to search and to read through. You can find just the posts you want very easily.
One significant difference between forums and electronic mailing lists is that mailing lists automatically deliver new messages to the subscriber, while forums require the member to visit the website and check for new posts.
Because members may miss replies in threads they are interested in, many modern forums offer an “e-mail notification” feature, whereby members can choose to be notified of new posts in a thread, and web feeds that allow members to see a summary of the new posts using aggregator software. Client software aggregators are installed applications designed to collect Web feed subscriptions and group them together using a user friendly interface.
Users sometimes post versions of a message that are only slightly different, especially in forums where they aren’t allowed to edit their earlier posts. Multiple posting instead of editing prior posts can artificially inflate a user’s post count.
In many forums which have editing allowed they have rules asking people not to make multiple posts, and also use a common plug-in to merge double posts, without an administrator/moderator having to manually delete or merge the posts. You do have to Register for many features and functions such as E-Mail Digests, Notification of New Posts and/or Threads, Personal Messaging and downloading of Post Attachments for them to work.
As crazy as the forums are, it is a real community builder that I doubt will ever be replaced. In order for forums to disappear entirely you would need something just as effective to replace them. Forums are a place where users of all types come together to discuss issues, trivial or serious. They are just what the word means, a place to gather ideas from varying and differing points of view, and it’s OK if not everyone agrees.
Bob Withers is a professional sales and marketing person with over twenty years in the field. He has also turned his sights on Affiliate Marketing to apply his trade. Bob changed career paths four years ago when both he and his wife began working with Autistic adults in the US, which along with his Home Business and Affiliate Marketing, is his focus right now. If you want to get in touch with Bob or learn more about Affiliate Marketing and Home Business opportunities please visit:
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This is my new Blog and having been away from it for a couple of years it’s great to be back because I really enjoy it. Just to tell you something about myself, my wife and I are currently working with Autistic adults in the state of Maine and we love it. Although we’re from Canada, originally from Newfoundland, this is our second stint working in Maine and the two men we are working with this time around are great. We’ve become very attached to these young men and we consider ourselves to be a family. Actually our job title is that of Therapeutic Foster Parents and of course we take it very seriously. One of the main reasons we take it so seriously is that we are advocates for these young men because at times they can’t speak for themselves.
The sad part about our job here in Maine is that we have to leave the country after 18 months. The reason for this being the company who hired us and sponsored us into the US could only get us into the country by way of a Training Visa with the main condition being we have to leave after 18 months. We were here under the same circumstances in 2007 and had to leave the guys we were caring for at that time at the end of 2008.
This of course was very difficult for the three men we were working with and living with at the time and it was also very difficult for us because we became very attached and as I mentioned earlier we became a family. One of the main benefits of coming back is that we get to see the guys we worked with on our first visit and we also get to do what we enjoy which is caring for and helping these young men.
Because of our love for what we do and for the people we work with I will be dedicating a Page on this website to Autism and to the people who live with it on a daily basis. I’m hoping this will help educate people who aren’t familiar with what is fast becoming a global concern and help to raise funds for research.
The other objective of this website is to offer Home Business advice and present opportunities to people who are interested in making a legitimate living by working from home.
I’m hoping to have a great deal of relevant content added soon and I hope people will make it a point to visit often. Thank you for visiting and for taking the time to read this information.
The following two videos should give you some idea of the majestic beauty of Newfoundland:
I’ve added a video below, one of which is actually an advertisement by a local brewery located in St. John’s, Newfoundland which is where I’m from. But it contains some great shots of the area and I like to think portrays what we, as Newfoundlanders, are all about: People who care about people, who work hard and play hard but aren’t afraid to laugh at ourselves. In the following videos you will see many examples of this outlook on life as portrayed by local entertainers performing at what we call “Kitchen Parties”.
These are events where neighbours come together to have a few drinks and entertain one another through song and dance. Please take the time to have a look.