DISCUSSIONS BOARDS
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WELCOME TO THE DHARMA MEMPHIS
DISCUSSION BOARDS
Discussion Board Introduction / Basic Premise
Discussion boards are chronological records of people's discussions about a
given topic. Here at the Dharma Memphis, most of the discussions are likely to
be about Buddhism, The Dharma and events in and concerning our community. The
basic idea is that one person makes a discussion board post in one of the
boards. He/She is then responded to by another person who is also interested in
the conversation. People read these posts and join in the conversation. Each
discussion board is like a mini town hall where lots of people come together and
talk about something that interests them.
What's the difference between a chat room and a discussion board?
A chat room is a place where you go and engage other people in real-time. You
enter a room and other people are 'visible" to you . Text scrolls upwards on
your screen as individuals "talk" to one another. If you find something that
someone writes to be compelling, you'll type in a response and it will appear on
the screen for everyone in the room to see. Once you leave a chat room, there is
generally no historical record kept of the conversation. Also, the topics in a
chat room are wide-ranging and generally not as well organized as discussion
boards. Finally, if you want to participate in a chat room, you have to be FAST.
Because text is scrolling up the screen each time someone types something, you
have to respond quickly and generally don't have time to think about your
response. Chat rooms are most conducive to lighter, more socially focused
conversations.
Discussion boards, on the other hand, are not "face-to-face" experiences like
chat rooms are. The premise is the same, as people type their thoughts and
others respond, but the difference is that each message written on a discussion
board has its own page and shows up alone. People then read that message and
have time to think about and respond to it. Discussion boards are permanent
records of the conversations, you can refer to everything days, weeks, or even
years after it was written. Discussion boards, while also social, act as much
better research and publishing tools than chat rooms.
If you have any questions about how this all works, please feel free to
email the webmaster.
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