Web Discussion Forums

Web Forum Information

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Web discussion forums generally aren't designed for real-time chat. Instead, participants take time to read and respond to the various postings that they come across. Most Web writing programs allow students to collaborate online using Web forums. If you've interacted with fellow students using a class discussion forum, you are already familiar with a Web discussions. You can use your experience with class discussion to help you enter into extended conversations that are taking place on the Web.

If you have never participated in a Web discussion, be sure to browse through some existing discussions to get a sense of the kinds of conversations that take place on the Web. You may also want to look over our advice for posting to email discussion lists to prepare yourself to join an online conversation.

If you are interested in combing through the many forums available on the Web to collect materials or to join a conversation, try beginning at one of the sites that provides searchable collections of Web forums. Some of the best are

ForumOne

This site specializing in indexing Web discussion forums allows you to search for conversations by keyword or using categories.

Critical Path

A nice site that serves as a clearinghouse for Internet conversations, including Web discussion forums.

Reference.Com's Search Page

Search for Web Forums by keyword.