The internet has been in existence for a long time. Over that time, its users have developed areas on the web that use a type of discussion platform called Message Boards (also known as “forums” for short). Some of these “Forums” are hosted on free forum hosting providers, such as;
If you go with a free forum hosting provider, you will typically use a stripped down version of a popular forum software that is already freely available to use. You will also usually have limited access to any of the coding templates and have no access to any of the core files associated with your forum, and may have to “pay extra” to get what is already standard on the full version of the forum software, such as if you went with an Open Source program for your forum software.
A few of the popular Open Source forum software include;
If you go with an open source forum software, you would have to purchase a domain name from a Domain Name Registrar and your forum would have to be hosted using a Paid Hosting Provider. Usually paid hosting providers allow its users to register domain names through their own website. A few of the more popular paid hosting providers include;
For those of you who are just getting into the world of message boarding, I will briefly describe the structure when creating the layout for your message board. Most message boards use a hierarchy system in terms of laying out the blue print for where you want your members to participate in discussions. This hierarchy typically goes as follows…
- Category
- Forum
- Sub-Forum
- Forum
CATEGORY
When you first begin to create a layout for your message board, you should first create what is known as a “Category.” This category, will be the “parent” section that will hold other discussion areas for your members to discuss topics. The category should have a name, such as “General Discussions” for instance. Usually a forum/message board will contain three to five categories on the main index page of the forum. A category, will usually be about an extremely broad subject.
FORUM
What you now want to do, is create what is known as “Forums” that are within the Category you initially created. These “forums” could also be called “sub-categories” as they are housed within a parent section called a “category.” You could use forums, rather than a place for discussing topics, as a “redirect link” which redirects a user from the area of the website they are on, to a different area on the website, or to another website altogether. A forum, will usually be about one particular subject such as, “Music.”
Sub-Forum
Sub-Forums, are used within an already created “forum” that was, itself, created within a “category.” Sub-Forums, similarly to forums, are able to be used as redirect links. A sub-forum defines a subject even more. So if you were going to create a Category called “General Discussions” and a Forum within that category called “Music” then you could have a Sub-Forum inside that forum called “Country.”
To briefly recap the structure of message boards, also known as “forums” is as follows…
You have a “Sub-Forum” inside a “Forum,” and you have a “Forum” inside a “Category.” Categories are about a broad subject, then you have Forums, and Sub-Forums which define that same subject into more defined discussion areas about that same subject.
Discussion Topic: The Structure of Online Message Boards (Forums)
