Forums

Two weeks ago, I set up forum software (phpBB to be specific) for a group writing project with my friends.

I like forums. A lot of sites I've used over the years have phased out their forums for a variety of reasons. In some cases they weren't frequented enough, in others there was trouble hosting it elsewhere, or the major reason is that they've changed how their pages are served. Webcomics specifically have been moving to more dynamic web software like wordpress, comicpress, which allows them to use plugins for special commenting software on each individual update.

Forums have their place. They're indispensable to sites for videogames, for players to bond over the product and tech support. I could lose hours reading the arts forum for City of Heroes, back before the game was shut down. Which is leading me to something I need specify.

When I say forum, I'm talking about a messageboard, which can be divided into several subsections with their own boards and childboards. Writing this, I realized how flexible the term forum actually is.

The one I used, phpBB, I created in two sections. The first section was the important details of the world we were writing in and contained two boards inside of it. One, for biographies, writing details, and scenario details. The second board for resources and actual information we needed for it.

The second section I created is gaining boards as we work, a new board with every leg we complete to keep everything in chronological order. This is the same for most messageboards. Many or few sections, containing boards inside dedicated to a specific purpose.

I enjoy these, as they keep communication organized. But that doesn't mean I dislike the new discussion methods that have sprung up as messageboards become less common. Tumblr, blogspot, twitter, facebook, and to a lesser extent sites like Livejournal, all have native commenting systems instead of dedicated discussion forums away from the page. Some, like tumblr, have plugins you can use to allow even more communication if the site itself is limited. The result is something much more intimate and timely than a dedicated messageboard.

And that's what the internet is becoming, a much more personal, interactive experience. Instead of having to remove yourself to a special area, you can interact directly with the creator of the content.

But if you're running an interactive site that the discussion is the forefront of the site's reason to exist, messageboards definitely still have their place.