It is based on the consulting experience of Forum One Communications. Both work well and are popular. Threaded formats tend to be better for technical topics, serial formats for more social or high traffic sites. Software packages that rely on dynamically generated URLs within the forum area can present problems in bookmarking and indexing. This feature is particularly important in low traffic sites.
Systems range from no security features to aggressive e-mail confirmation of new registrants.
Spellchecking is mysteriously absent from many packages. Forums which engage registration systems typically allow the moderator to ban unruly participants from the forum. The moderator may want the capability to create new threads or entire new message areas. Some multi-platform packages are known for running much more effectively on certain platforms. Software speed is of vital importance.