Forums, categories, topics, threads, posts, replies, blah, blah, blah. Has anyone ever really given any thought as to whether or not we're using these terms properly? Lately, I've been doing a lot of thinking about forum software in general and this is probably one of the more nit-picky subjects of the lot. I just think we're naming our parts wrong.

First off, the definition of a 'forum', according to my good friend Webster, is:

1 a : the marketplace or public place of an ancient Roman city forming the center of judicial and public business b : a public meeting place for open discussion c : a medium (as a newspaper or online service) of open discussion or expression of ideas

Ok, so maybe Forum is a pretty good word for this type of software, but I've got an issue with the next word on the list; categories. Now it makes pretty good sense, since you're trying to categorize your topics, but how do we categorize real life discussions? Well, we usually call them TOPICS of DISCUSSION, don't we? Sports, technology, web development are all topics of discussion. We could still call them categories, but doesn't that sound boring?

Next, we have 'topics' as we see them today. Well, we can't call them topics since categories are called the same thing; kind of confusing. Why not call them discussions? If we follow the idea of the phrase 'topic of discussion', this term falls into place and makes perfect sense.

Last on my list is the boring use of the word 'posts'. You don't POST something when you're having a discussion, you comment on a discussion. So posts are really comments, which makes this whole thing sound a bit more 'human'.

Forums are used to bring people together, not robots, so it's only natural to use terms that are more 'human-oriented'. So, in closing, here's a quick rundown of what I'm trying to say:

1. Forums are Forums
2. Categories are Topics
3. Topics are Discussions
4. Posts are Comments

Again, "Bob visited a forum and commented on a discussion based on the topic of sports."

MUCH nicer. Discuss ...

P.S. - This was posted almost 2 years ago on the MyTopix support forums. Good for content here. ;)

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