Editing Virtual community (section)

===Internet message boards===
[[File:Phpbb 3.0 prosilver.png|thumb|An Internet forum powered by [[phpBB]]]]

An online [[Internet forum|message board]] is a forum where people can discuss thoughts or ideas on various topics or simply express an idea. Users may choose which thread, or board of discussion, they would like to read or contribute to. A user will start a discussion by making a post.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Marone|first=Vittorio|year=2015|title="Keep in mind that I will be improving": The opening post as a request for absolution|journal=Online Journal of Communication and Media Technologies|volume=5|issue=1|pages=136–158|doi=10.29333/ojcmt/2499|doi-access=free}}</ref> Other users who choose to respond can follow the discussion by adding their own posts to that thread at any time. Unlike in spoken [[conversation]]s, message boards do not usually have instantaneous responses; users actively go to the website to check for responses.

Anyone can register to participate in an online message board. People can choose to participate in the virtual community, even if or when they choose not to contribute their thoughts and ideas. Unlike chat rooms, at least in practice, message boards can accommodate an almost infinite number of users.

Internet users' urges to talk to and reach out to strangers online is unlike those in real-life encounters where people are hesitant and often unwilling to step in to help strangers. Studies have shown that people are more likely to intervene when they are the only one in a situation. With Internet message boards, users at their computers are alone, which might contribute to their willingness to reach out. Another possible explanation is that people can withdraw from a situation much more easily online than off. They can simply click exit or log off, whereas they would have to find a physical exit and deal with the repercussions of trying to leave a situation in real life. The lack of status that is presented with an online identity also might encourage people, because, if one chooses to keep it private, there is no associated label of gender, age, ethnicity or lifestyle.<ref>{{cite book|last=Wellman|first=B.|year=1999|title=Networks in the global village: life in contemporary communities|publisher=Avalon|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vhuOBRPS-pUC&q=impacts+of+virtual+communities&pg=PA331|isbn=9780813368214|access-date=4 November 2020|archive-date=12 May 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230512105935/https://books.google.com/books?id=vhuOBRPS-pUC&q=impacts+of+virtual+communities&pg=PA331|url-status=dead}}</ref>