discussion group

(messaging)

Any system that supports group messaging, e.g. a shared mailbox, Usenet, bulletin board system, or possibly a mailing list, used to publish messages on some particular topic.

This article is provided by FOLDOC - Free Online Dictionary of Computing (foldoc.org)

Internet forum

A website that provides an online exchange of information between people about a particular topic. It provides a venue for questions and answers and may be monitored to keep the content appropriate. Also called a "discussion board" or "discussion group," an Internet forum is similar to an Internet newsgroup (see below), but uses the Web browser for access. Before the Web, text-only forums were common on bulletin boards and proprietary online services. However, Internet forums include all the extras people expect from the Web, including images, videos, downloads and links, sometimes functioning as a mini-portal on the topic.

Forums can be entirely anonymous or require registration with username and password. Messages may be displayed in chronological order of posting or in question-answer order where all related answers are displayed under the question (see message thread).

Forums/Newsgroups vs. Chat Rooms
Forums are like Usenet "newsgroups," the original Internet discussion groups, and both systems keep postings online for some period of time. Users can scroll back in time and do not have to be logged in the moment they are posted. In contrast, chat rooms are interactive, real-time sessions, and users must be present to read them. See newsgroup and chat room.

Turn a Site into a Forum
There is a variety of forum creation software for the Web, typically written in Java, PHP, Perl or ASP. The software can be used to create forum-only sites or to add a discussion section to any Web page. See Google Groups and Reddit.

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References in periodicals archive

USENET is a component of the Internet that contains discussion groups, called newsgroups, of every interest imaginable.

Online services for law enforcement

The software that allows the Usenet discussions to proceed has a built-in cancellation function, which allows any person posting a message to a Usenet discussion group to send out a subsequent cancel command that propagates around the Usenet network from machine to machine and instructs each participating machine to ignore the user's previously posted message.

New world war

This discussion group compares movies with the books that inspired them.

Schaumburg Library's book groups welcome new members

Mystery Book Discussion Group "The Westing Game'' by Ellen Raskin, 6:30 p.m.

Calendar file Tuesday/7

23 WOPEC, Postgraduate education centre, Cardiff, Wales, WEHE PEARS reaccreditation lecture and discussion group SEE ABOVE

Diary dates

specific co-operation packages within the Five Discussion Groups: Renewable

EU-GCC Clean Energy Network to meet in Brussels

Centre manager John Griffiths said: "Supporting dairy discussion groups is central to our work and it is most gratifying that the Dairy Celts has benefited greatly.

Dairy Celts get together to milk their farm expertise

The American Journeys Book Discussion Group will discuss "The Grapes of Wrath" by John Steinbeck 3 p.m., St.

Washington University literary calendar

The Carlisle Discussion Group say they want to know the price they will be paid before they enter their livestock into the market.

Farming world unites against 'Carlisle Seven' farming

Contacted off the discussion group, Raddatz elaborated, explaining that she has obtained positive results by handling a factually similar situation exactly as she counseled the discussion group.

Custody conundrum: your client's ex-husband, who moved to Texas and had custody of the children, dies. Your client wants the kids, her ex's Texas relatives say no. What do you do?

THE slave trade will be the subject of two discussion groups at a Tyneside gallery.

Slave trade gallery talks

"Because we are also a literary discussion group, meeting every Wednesday fosters consistency within the group and allows us to share our perspectives and discuss timely current events as they unfold in the media."

Warning: black men thinking: Pittsburgh group uses books to foster discussion on crucial issues