For additional Web Conferencing articles and resources, see the Think of it Publications page . Online discussion forums have played a key role in community networks ever since the first such networks began to appear in the mid 1980's.
Forums permit direct interaction among community members.
They provide a place where local issues can be discussed and information can be shared quickly and easily. But this article will focus on text-based, asynchronous group discussions. Participants in such conferences can log in at their own convenience and read whatever messages have been posted since their last visit. The first step is to think carefully about why you want forums. Unless your forums fulfill a clearly identifiable purpose, they are likely to languish.