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QUICKLINKS   Remotely Hosted: AccessBoards BeSeen BoardHost Bravenet EzBoard Free Forums Greenspun Installed Software: Ikonboard Phorum Snitz Ultimate Bulletin Board vBulletin YaBB WWWBoard Open Directory Project Yahoo! post power BY RYAN KAWAILANI OZAWA Forums, or message boards, can transform your journal into a genuine destination on the web, and turn your writing into a catalyst for open discussion among your readers. A cross between discussion lists and guestbooks, message boards allow people to interact directly with each other — with or without your active involvement — organized and archived on the web for the world to read. The number one prerequisite for a reader forum, of course, is readers. If you have a regular gang of fans (preferrably outspoken ones), there's a good chance a little community can develop around your journal. People who share an interest in your life and lifestyle can often hit things off with each other, and whether they discuss something you've written or just the latest movie they saw, a forum can give readers a sense of belonging, and keep them coming back to interact with other readers, even if you go a few days without writing. Of course, forums can run away without you. Like guestbooks, message boards do create the potential for trouble, as abusive messages can be posted, and readers can get into heated debates. The latter, at least, tends to keep your forum busy, as debaters and bystanders flock to watch the fur fly. Just be prepared for the possibility that a crowd of complete strangers could launch into an argument about your life, right under your nose, as if you weren't there. Looking for a common and often effective way to encourage your readers to jump in? Post a prompt at the end of notable entries. If you wrote about your pet, for example, you can direct people to your message board with a topic like, "What do you feed your pets?" If your entry got people thinking, they might post their pet-related thoughts, and an involved discussion could be sparked. Try to avoid, however, pushing readers to post in every entry. Look for topics you cover that could be of interest to a wide range of people — an entry about assorted stapler manufacturers isn't likely to get people gabbing. Temper your message board promotion based on the number of regular visitors you have, or you might drive readers away if they sense you expect something from them. That said, most guestbook services notify you when comments are posted, and allow you to delete entries you don't like. Some may even allow you to "moderate" comments, but this takes away some of the appeal for visitors who are inspired to comment in part because they know their words will be available instantly. There are many free message board services, and features vary widely. Customization, administration and moderator options, and advertising are key concerns — check out a few before picking one for your site. Setup, fortunately, is easy, often requiring little more than a link on your page. A few providers (among the many available) worth checking out include Bravenet, which offers a wide range of web site add-ons, BeSeen, and the ad-free but bare-bones Greenspun. If you're a code wizard (or a code wizard owes you a favor), there are also message board programs that you can install and host on your own server. You'll usually need advanced web hosting options (like CGI, ASP and PHP) first, and in some cases a little money. Examples include UBB, slick but pricey, and WWWBoard, simple but free. Ryan Kawailani Ozawa is the founder and lead editor of Diarist.Net. He is not a lawyer, but still knows enough to help you stay out of trouble. He can be reached at webmaster@diarist.net.