Discussions forums (also known as message boards, community forums, etc.) have been around in some form since the dawn of the Internet. The technology behind them has developed considerably during that time of course, but the basic form of the medium has remained similar. A user posts a discussion, and other users reply to them. The multidirectional nature of these conversations is what allows for so much flexibility in the medium.

There are discussion forums for a huge variety of subjects, with a huge variety of approaches that result in a huge variety of different communities. Plugins and refinements allow for a great deal of customisation, but the familiarity and solidity of the underlying structure are powerful tools in themselves.

Forum technology has improved a lot in recent years, and a modern solution has a lot of useful benefits for business communities. Some features to look out for include:

• Single Sign-On, allowing users to sing up with your existing login system, or their logins from social media
• Theme control, allowing you to perfectly match your website and branding with your community
• Customer community specific features like CRM integration, Q&A plugins and data at rest encryption