Forums are a common part of an active website today. You should, however, not make the decision for a forum too easily, because a forum, a guest book, or a web log with comment function requires constant control and must be filled with lively content. A successful forum walks a thin line between sufficient abundance, in order not to appear dead, yet not being too full, in order to not get out of control.
In contrast to the shop solution with phpShop or to the document administration with DocMan, there is no standard solution, but an array of similarly successful solutions in forum designs. The first section of this chapter will give you an overview.