The relationship between forums and blogs

Forums and blogs both support interactive, threaded discussions between users. However, many users report that conversations within blogs feel different than conversations within forums. In general terms, forums feel more group centric, and blogs feel more individual centric.

Within Drupal, however, these paradigms can be shifted. For example, the taxonomy module and use of keywords allows blog posts to be organized in the same way as forum posts; within groups (discussed in Chapter 12, Supporting Multiple Classes), blog topics can feel more like a forum. In the rest of this chapter, we will look at some of the ways in which these modes of discussion differ, with an eye towards helping clarify how and when to use each tool for the greatest effect.

Forums

Forums are among the oldest of the online communication tools, as they have their roots in tools that have been around since the 1970s. Traditionally, forums provide a place for group members to come...