
Author Topic: What is an Internet Messsage Board (Forum)?  (Read 2638 times)

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Richard Myers

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What is an Internet Messsage Board (Forum)?
« on: February 04, 2010, 12:25:19 PM »
Most who are reading already know what a message board or forum is. But, it can be a little confusing even to those who have participated for many years. In the beginning of such things on the internet, they were BBSs or Bulletin Boards. Like a traditional bulletin board in a store or school, people post things for sale, room-mates wanted, job opportunities, etc. An easy way to find information on a wide variety of topics. With the advent of the internet, the idea was broadened to include access to people over a wide area. It is a very good format when one has multiple topics and multiple users to organize. This large amount of information can be easily accessed.

Things changed somewhat when the world wide web developed and ease of use extended the internet to millions of new users around the world.  The BBS made a quick change to take advantage of the WWW. New software was developed to replicate what the BBSs had done. Access was much easier and much quicker. Message boards became very popular. And, the term "forum" was extended in its use. Compuserve had used the term to describe its various "forums",  places where people could meet and discuss various issues.

Today, the term "message board", "bulletin board", and "forum" are used interchangeably. But, they may have different meanings, thus the reason for this post. When Remnant Online began ten years ago, we used UBB software and were called a board. Within our message board, we had different "forums" for the many areas of work we as a people have been entrusted with. You will notice throughout ten years of postings that the term "forums" is used to describe the areas of discussion such as the Sabbath School Forum, the Bread of Life Forum.

As time moved on, other software developers chose to use the term "forum" instead of board and then to describe what we call forums, they called "boards".  That is what happens when you let your six year old start writing code. He has zeal, but does not realize there were 6,000 years of history before he was born. :)   So, there is some confusion when it comes to the terms "forum", "forums", "board", and "boards".

Because we have used the term "forums" for many years, our users understand what we mean. But, enters a new situation. A few years ago, we did some research and discovered that it would be good to change software. Recognizing that new software always will cause some change, we weighed the benefits and the costs and decided that the smf software we now use would be a blessing for us. It must have been developed by some of the very intelligent young ones that call a board, a forum. They call forums, "boards".  :)  While we have not had any complaints, our users are able to work difficult things out, we felt it helpful to explain to some who may still not have worked it out, especially our new members.

You also notice that we have some "child boards" which are the same as "sub-forums".  When you enter the Signs of the Times Forum, you will notice that there is a "child board" called "Natural Disasters". You may call the Signs of the Times Forum, the Signs of the Times Board if you like and Natural Disaster is either a sub-forum or a child board. We will know what  you mean.

Now if you hear the term board or forum, you will understand that they can be used to describe what we call Signs of the Times. I hope we have made things easier to understand.  :)  If not, you really don't need to understand because we have selected a  format that is user friendly. You just point and click and you will soon be moving around as if you have been here for years!  If you have any questions, you may ask them here, or ask any moderator.

Jesus receives His reward when we reflect His character, the fruits of the Spirit......We deny Jesus His reward when we do not.

 
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