internet forums

I suppose they are sort of a distant cousin of blogs. But whereas blogs could arguably be described as lonely, self-infatuated, rantings to the world, forums are hubs of community and communication. The blog somehow has a sense of desperation about it - here I am - this is me - this is MY spot on the Internet! - Love me! - I'm interesting...

Forums are not so egocentric - they are just places - village squares so to speak, where people can meet to discuss certain topics. Hell, they don't even have to meet. It's like someone coming to the town square and finding it empty, but writing his thoughts on a piece of paper and leaving it under a tree. A few hours later, someone else comes along and replies to those thoughts.. And so forth and so forth...