However, on the right is some more information. You may also see the word 'unmarked' beside the name. This is to let you know that you have not marked the forum as read. When new messages appear, 'unmarked' will once again show up. In that way you can see if new messages have been posted to your favourite forums.
Forums can have one of three forms.
To read or post to a private forum you must request access from the moderator of that forum by e-mail. There are also numbers in square-brackets. Archived pages remain available for reading and searching but cannot be posted to. The next step is to either choose a thread that is discussing a topic of interest, or create a new thread. The thread is the actual discussion between users over specific issues.