BuddyPress.org

@Peterverkooijen said:

@stwc, can you answer the question, what makes forums so great for collaboration? What can you do with forums that you can’t do with blog posts + comments?

I’ll wade in here (ugh, bad idea?) with one major difference between forums and blog posts. On a typical WP installation, blog posts are written by site owners and/or their chosen authors. This means only certain selected groups of people can start a new discussion point/thread.

Forums typically allow everyone to start a new discussion and have their peers comment on that topic. Site owners that offer up forums are opening the door to a *community* where people feel they have some ownership of the site/content, etc.

Looking at activity streams – they are wonderful but really, they are best suited for sites where people really want to know what their peers are up to over and above the “normal” discussion threads that can happen in blog comments or forum threads. The stuff like posting pictures of your newest pet or latest vacation – that “personal interest” and “personal interaction” stuff that makes people warm and fuzzy and feel like they belong to a group/community.

@Peterverkooijen, you are totally correct in your statement that blogs and forums should be the same. Even more correct when you look forward to WP 3.0 with it’s flexible post-type definitions.