{"id":20459,"date":"2020-01-29T22:40:58","date_gmt":"2020-01-29T22:40:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/glosario-digital\/internet-forum"},"modified":"2026-05-11T22:50:51","modified_gmt":"2026-05-11T22:50:51","slug":"internet-forum","status":"publish","type":"encyclopedia","link":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/digital-glossary\/internet-forum","title":{"rendered":"Internet Forum"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"boxpad wp-image-23135 size-full alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/internet-forum.jpg\" alt=\"Internet Forum\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/internet-forum.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/internet-forum-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Definition:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>An <strong>internet forum<\/strong> is a place where people can exchange ideas on topics of interest. Its members can post discussions and read and respond to messages written by other participants. A forum can focus on various topics and usually develops a sense of virtual community among its members.<\/p>\n<p>Forums are also known as bulletin boards or discussion groups, differing from a blog because the latter is usually written by a user or administrators of the web and usually only allows the responses of other users regarding the material of the blog. A forum usually allows all members to post and start new topics.<\/p>\n\n<h2 class=\"indexed\"><span class=\"heading_text\">Difference between forum and chat<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>An Internet forum is also different from a chat room, as members in a chat room communicate at the same time, while members of a discussion group post messages that will then be read by other users each time they log in. In addition, forums are usually more focused on a specific topic than chat rooms.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"indexed\"><span id=\"como-funciona-un-foro\" class=\"anchor\"><\/span><span class=\"heading_text\">How a forum works<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>As a general rule, the prospective member must register before they can join a group and write a message. This user will need to follow certain online rules, known as netiquette, such as treating other members with respect and refraining from using profanity. When a member is approved by the administrator or moderator, they usually choose their own username and password. An avatar, photograph, or image provided by the member usually appears next to the username in each message.<\/p>\n<p>Separate conversations in a forum are called <strong>threads<\/strong> and are made up of messages written by members. Typically, users can edit their own messages, launch new topics, and edit their profile. A general profile displays optional information about each member of the forum, such as the city where they are located and their interests.<\/p>\n<p>The forum administrator or moderator can also participate in the threads. An administrator can modify the discussions, as well as move or delete them if necessary, usually being their role to monitor and guide the discussion to ensure that the rules of the forum are being followed.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"indexed\"><span class=\"heading_text\">Examples of forums<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Although the forums have lost part of their popularity due to the irruption of social networks, which also allow to establish discussions and resolve doubts through tags or <em>hashtags,<\/em>there are forums in Spanish that continue to enjoy great popularity. Among them we can highlight:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.losviajeros.com\/foros.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Travelers<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.burbuja.info\/inmobiliaria\/index.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Bubble<\/a><\/li>\n<li>HTCMania<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/abandonware.superforo.net\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferre nofollowr noopener noreferrer\">Abandonware<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.forocoches.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Forocoches<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 class=\"indexed\"><span id=\"herramientas-para-crear-un-foro\" class=\"anchor\"><\/span><span class=\"heading_text\">Tools to create a forum<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Most of these discussion groups, even those with a larger number of participants, retain a rudimentary design and far removed from new trends on the Internet. In fact, there are several tools that allow you to create forums without excessive complications.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>phpBB<\/strong>. Short for PHP Bulletin Board, it is a versatile and easy-to-use free software.<\/li>\n<li><strong>MyBB<\/strong> (My Bulletin Board). It is another free and easy-to-use option.<\/li>\n<li><strong>bbPress<\/strong>. It is a WordPress plugging that allows you to insert the forum into a web page.<\/li>\n<li><strong>vBulletin<\/strong>. Payment tool with which they are configured, among others, Forocoches.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Kunena.<\/strong> It is a forum for the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/digital-glossary\/joomla\">Joomla<\/a> CMS<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 class=\"indexed\"><span class=\"heading_text\">Usefulness of forums in web positioning<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Forums were a fundamental part of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/seo-agency-spain\">positioning <\/a>strategy until the arrival of Google&#8217;s &#8220;penguin update&#8221; in 2011, and until then they were used to include links both in the posts and in the signatures of users. However, after this change in the algorithm, numerous websites that positioned through these practices suffered serious penalties in their positioning. There is still a discrepancy in the role that forums should play today in SEO strategies, but there is a consensus that they can no longer be used as a single strategy, but, in any case, complementary to others within link building.<\/p>\n<h2>Frequently asked questions about Internet Forum<\/h2>\n<div class=\"geo-faq-block\">\n<details class=\"geo-faq-item\">\n<summary>What does Internet Forum mean in digital marketing?<\/summary>\n<p>Internet Forum refers to the concept described in this glossary entry: Definition: An internet forum is a place where people can exchange ideas on topics of interest. A forum can focus on various topics and usually develops a sense of virtual community among its members. It gives teams a shared vocabulary for analysing digital projects.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n<details class=\"geo-faq-item\">\n<summary>When should teams pay attention to Internet Forum?<\/summary>\n<p>Teams should review Internet Forum when it affects acquisition, measurement, user experience, content, automation or campaign performance. The important step is to connect the definition with a real decision.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n<details class=\"geo-faq-item\">\n<summary>How is Internet Forum used in a digital strategy?<\/summary>\n<p>Internet Forum is used by translating the concept into practical checks: where it appears in the funnel, which data or channel is involved and whether it needs optimisation, monitoring or documentation.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n<details class=\"geo-faq-item\">\n<summary>What is a common mistake when interpreting Internet Forum?<\/summary>\n<p>A common mistake is using Internet Forum too broadly. It is better to verify the context, the tool or the metric involved before making strategic or technical conclusions.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n<\/div>\n<p><script type=\"application\/ld+json\">\n{\n  \"@context\": \"https:\/\/schema.org\",\n  \"@graph\": [\n    {\n      \"@type\": \"DefinedTerm\",\n      \"@id\": \"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/digital-glossary\/internet-forum#definedterm\",\n      \"name\": \"Internet Forum\",\n      \"description\": \"Definition of Internet Forum in the Arimetrics Digital Glossary.\",\n      \"inDefinedTermSet\": {\n        \"@type\": \"DefinedTermSet\",\n        \"name\": \"Arimetrics Digital Glossary\",\n        \"url\": \"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/digital-glossary\"\n      }\n    },\n    {\n      \"@type\": \"FAQPage\",\n      \"@id\": \"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/digital-glossary\/internet-forum#faq\",\n      \"mainEntity\": [\n        {\n          \"@type\": \"Question\",\n          \"name\": \"What does Internet Forum mean in digital marketing?\",\n          \"acceptedAnswer\": {\n            \"@type\": \"Answer\",\n            \"text\": \"Internet Forum refers to the concept described in this glossary entry: Definition: An internet forum is a place where people can exchange ideas on topics of interest. 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Forums are also known as bulletin [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"template":"","encyclopedia-tag":[933,410],"class_list":["post-20459","encyclopedia","type-encyclopedia","status-publish","hentry","encyclopedia-tag-comunidad-online","encyclopedia-tag-social-networks"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/encyclopedia\/20459","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/encyclopedia"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/encyclopedia"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20459"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"encyclopedia-tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/encyclopedia-tag?post=20459"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}