Forum posting
What is a forum?
The simplistic definition of a forum
is a place where people have the ability to start communication (in the form of
threads) and reply to other people's threads. A member of the community
in the forum posts a message, which is visible to everyone in that community.
What is an Internet Forum?
An Internet forum is a discussion area on a website. Website members can post discussions and read and respond to posts by other forum members. A forum can be focused on nearly any subject and a sense of an online community, or virtual community, tends to develop among forum members.This type of forum may also be called a message board, discussion group, bulletin board, or web forum, but it differs from a blog, the name for a web log, as a blog is usually written by one user and usually only allows for the responses of others to the blog material. A forum usually allows all members to make posts and start new topics.
An Internet forum is also different from a chat room. Members in a chat room usually all chat or communicate at the same time, while members in a discussion group post messages to be read by others whenever they happen to log on. Forums also tend to be more topic-focused than chat rooms.
Before a prospective member joins a group and makes posts to others, he or she is usually required to register. The prospective member must usually agree to follow certain online rules, sometimes called netiquette, such as to respect other members and refrain from using profanity. When a member is approved by the administrator or moderator, the member usually chooses his or her own user name and password, although sometimes, a password is supplied. An avatar, or photograph or picture, supplied by the member might appear under the member's user name in each post.
The separate conversations in a forum are called threads, and they are made up of member-written posts. Members can usually edit their own posts, start new topics, post in their choice of threads, and edit their profile. A profile usually lists optional information about each forum member, such as the city they are located in and their interests.
An Internet forum administrator or monitor may also participate in the forum. An administrator can usually modify threads as well as move or delete threads if necessary. He or she can also usually change software items in the forum. Moderators often help the administrator and monitor and guide the discussion to make sure the forum rules are being followed.
Web forum software packages are written in many different program languages, including Perl, PHP, ASP and Java. Either text files or a database can be used for the configuration and storage of posts.
Forum etiquette
Below is a short list of forum etiquette
that should be followed when using any online forum.
Behave the same way you would when
talking to people in real-life.
When creating a new post, create a
short descriptive subject of what it's about.
Try your best to spell all words
correctly and use proper punctuation. However, also realize that no one is
perfect.
Give your post some time to
get responses or answers to the question. Continuously bumping a message
or nagging other members to respond doesn't help.
Do not WRITE IN ALL CAPS as it makes
you appear as you're yelling.
Read the "Readme first"
posts or other sticky posts before creating a new post.
Respect all other members on the
forum.
Try not going into too great of
detail or making a post more than three paragraphs long. Long posts may get a TLDR
reply.
Don't reply to old threads or necropost.
Abide by the rules created by those
running the forum
Basic Structure of a Forum
A forum consists of 4
components: the forum itself, its categories, the topics and the messages. Each
forum can have an unlimited number of categories and sub-categories.
Categories are like placeholders in which topics of discussion and messages are
contained.
Users of a Forum
Users are individuals or members who
have been given access to a forum or who have publicly registered to access the
forum. These members do not have any special privileges unless otherwise
given by the Forum Owner. Users can become Moderators or Forum Owners if
designated by the Forum Owner.
Joining and Registering to a Forum
To
join a forum, registering to a forum must be done. To do this, click on
the “Join [name of forum] Forums” link, and the Registration Agreement will be
displayed for the visitor to read and accept before continuing with the
registration process. Upon acceptance of the terms, the visitor will be
required to complete a form, which requests for information such as full name,
username, email address, password, location and other miscellaneous information
about the user. When all required fields (marked with an asterisk) have
been provided, the visitor can proceed by clicking the “Join [name of forum]
Forums” link at the bottom of the forum.
Logging in to a Forum
There are several sections on the
main page of a forum: the Forum header, My Menu, Category Listing, and a
Statistics section. In the forum header, the following will be displayed: the
name of the forum, and the number of new messages since the user’s last visit,
any news posted by the Administrator, and the main navigational bar, which
offers links to other features within the forum, such as: profile, help, my
forums, calendar, refresh, and logout, as well as quick links to the latest
topics and statistics.
The “profile” link will direct
users to their personal profile, where they can update their personal
information and password, update their location and other miscellaneous information,
and personal settings. (Refer to “User’s Profile” for more
information.)The “help” link will initiate the online Help documentation.
“My forums” lists information about a user’s posts, his/her favorites,
identified keywords, a list of specified “ignored users” and general statistics
regarding his activity within the forum. The user’s calendar will display
the events as set by the Forum Administrator. (Note: a user may add entries to
his own calendar if granted permissions that authorize him to do so by the
Administrator.)
In the user’s personal
navigation menu or sidebar, which is located in the left pane, the member’s
username will be displayed, as well as a list of his categories (if he is not
on his “Home” page of the forums), and a search bar. The user can hide
the side bar if he/she wishes to.
In the Category Listing pane,
members can view a listing of their categories and their Private Topics (if
Private Topics has been enabled by the Administrator). An RSS link is
also available for members who prefer to read the latest messages/topics
through their RSS reader. General statistics relating to the categories
are also provided for viewing, such as the number of topics posted within each
category and when and who made the last post within the corresponding category.
In the Statistics pane, the
number of users who are registered to the forum will be displayed, as well as
the number of users who are currently logged into the forum. A link to
find the users is available. Specific to the member, the statistics pane
will identify the number of messages that he/she has posted to the forum, and
if the member is a global user, the overall number of messages that he/she has
contributed in all global forums.
Navigating within a Forum
To
navigate between the various sections of a forum as described in “Logging in to
a Forum”, simply click on the “home” link that appears in the main navigational
bar. The link will display a member’s menu and a listing of his/her
categories.
To navigate within a category,
click on a category from the home page or search for a category. (To
learn how to use the search features, refer to “Performing Searches”.)
Click on the topic of interest and then the message that the user wishes to
read. Users can then post a reply to a message.
Can't
access the moderation panel?
This is happening because the
account you're logged into is not listed as a moderator/admin for the forum
installed on your site. You or your company may have multiple accounts, or the
forum's primary account may belong to another person.
- Check any of your other email addresses to verify you don't have another Disqus account.
- If it's a multi-user site, check with the others who have access to the forum to add you as a moderator.
- Register a forum if you haven't yet and update your site with your new shortname.
Forum Posting Tips and Tricks
Forum Posting Tips & Tricks : There are many seo
friendly forum posting tips & tricks on the internet that can help to
create link building for your website. Below I mentioned below few forum
posting tips and tricks for creating website link building.
1. Firstly find your subject related topic
2. Please read the clearly forum rules before
registration your name in the different forums.
3. Search the other posts to see if your topic is
already covered.
4. Use a meaningful title for your thread.
5. Try to read and understand the subject of
discussion.
6. Ignore spammers, respond to them personally and
not through the board, or report them.
7. Stay on topic
8. Use an interesting and important post title.
9. Do not try put large discussion subject.
10. Start with small number of post and put 1/2
topics everyday and answer various questions or topics regarding your subject
related.
11. Do not use a forum to promote your product, service
or business.
12. your account may be canceled, if you use any
website link at the beginning of your post.
13. Forums authorities do not want that you just
come here for the link. They basically need your present as an active member of
the forum discussion.
14. When you will spend 3/4 months here, enough to
post and reply as an old member and then you will be able to give your link.
15. Most forum have a subject of signature that will
get access your account settings section after registration.
16. You can add any site links by editing your forum
Signature. This is a matter that, whenever any forum post or reply may be a
link to your post below.
17. Do not
submit a post that requires readers to download a large attachment. Either
explain the attachment or, better yet, provide a link to the information.
18. Use plain text over HTML if you want your post
to be readable by everyone.
19. In order to be understood by most people, use
correct spelling, grammar and avoid slang unless you know the word or phrase
will be understood by other members.
20. Do not double post (post the same message twice
in one thread) or cross post (place the same message across several forums).
21. Act in a give and take manner; help others as
often as or more than you ask for help.
22. When replying to a post, do not quote more from
the previous post than you have to.
23. Do not post new problems on someone else's
thread and interrupt a topic of discussion.
24. Do not use someone else’s thread for a private
conversation.
25. Most forums prohibit warez, cracks or illegal
downloading of software and similar topics.
26. Watch
your sense of humor, posts may be read by people from a variety of backgrounds
and ages.
27. Do not use a huge and annoying signature, a
modest signature is fine, moderators may remove large ones anyway.
28. Do not post any information that you want
private. Posts should not contain personal, identifiable information or content
embarrassing to others.
29.Do not post content that violates a copyright.
30. Do not post ”empty” or useless responses, such
as just ”lol” or ”cool.” Only post responses when you have something to
contribute.
31.Write concisely and do not ramble.
32. Do not use words like ”urgent” or ”important” in
your subject line, be patient.
If you follow above forum posting tips, then you
will get huge traffic to your website or blog.
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