Editing Internet forum (section)

==Common features==
By default, to be an Internet forum, the web application needs the ability to submit threads and replies. Typically, threads are in a newer to older view, and replies are in an older to newer view.

===Tripcodes and capcodes===
{{Main|Tripcode}}

Most imageboards and 2channel-style discussion boards allow (and encourage) anonymous posting and use a system of tripcodes instead of registration. A tripcode is the hashed result of a password that allows one's identity to be recognized without storing any data about the user.

In a tripcode system, a secret password is added to the user's name following a separator character (often a [[number sign]]). This password, or tripcode, is [[Hash function|hashed]] into a special key, or trip, distinguishable from the name by HTML styles. Tripcodes cannot be faked, but on some types of forum software, they are insecure and can be guessed. On other types, they can be brute-forced with software designed to search for tripcodes, such as Tripcode Explorer.<ref>{{cite web|title=Tripcode Explorer - Hurr Network|access-date=2010-08-22|url=http://www.hurrchan.net/wiki/Tripcodes|publisher=Hurrchan/Courtney Wade|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100825183203/http://www.hurrchan.net/wiki/Tripcodes|archive-date=2010-08-25}}</ref>

Moderators and administrators will frequently assign themselves capcodes or tripcodes where the guessable trip is replaced with a special notice (such as "# Administrator") or cap.

===Personal message===
{{Main|Personal message}}
A ''personal'' or ''private message'', or PM for short, is a message sent in private from a member to one or more other members. The ability to send so-called [[blind carbon copy|blind carbon copies]] (BCC) is sometimes available. When sending a BCC, the users to whom the message is sent directly will not be aware of the recipients of the BCC or even if one was sent in the first place.<ref group="example">Presuming someone is sending a personal message and has the ability to send a BCC: If someone fills the ''recipient'' field with "John" and "Tom", and the BCC field with "Gordon". John will know Tom got the message. Tom knows John got the message. But, both Tom and John have no clue that Gordon got the message as well.</ref>

Private messages are generally used for personal conversations. They can also be used with tripcodes—a message is addressed to a public trip and can be picked up by typing in the tripcode.

===Attachment===
An attachment can be almost any file. When someone attaches a file to a person's post, they are uploading that particular file to the forum's server. Forums usually have very strict limits on what can be attached and what cannot (among which is the size of the files in question). Attachments can be part of a thread, a social group, etc.

===BBCode and HTML===
{{Main|BBCode}}
[[HTML|HyperText Markup Language]] (HTML) is sometimes allowed, but usually its use is discouraged or, when allowed, extensively filtered. Modern bulletin board systems often have it disabled altogether{{Citation needed|date=February 2011}} or allow only administrators to use it, as allowing it at any normal user level is considered a security risk due to the high rate of [[Cross-site scripting|XSS]] vulnerabilities. When HTML is disabled, [[BBCode|Bulletin Board Code]] (BBCode) is the most common preferred alternative. BBCode usually consists of a tag, similar to HTML, but instead of <code>&lt;</code> and <code>&gt;</code>, the tagname is enclosed within square brackets (meaning: <code>[</code> and <code>]</code>). Commonly, <code>[i]</code> is used for [[italic type]], <code>[b]</code> is used for [[Emphasis (typography)|bold]], <code>[u]</code> for [[underline]], <code>[color="value"]</code> for color, and <code>[list]</code> for lists, as well as <code>[img]</code> for images and <code>[url]</code> for links.

The following example BBCode: <code>[b]This[/b] is [i]clever[/i] [b] [i]text[/i] [/b]</code>. When the post is viewed, the code is rendered to HTML and will appear as: '''This''' is ''clever'' '''''text'''''.

Many forum packages offer a way to create Custom BBCodes, or BBcodes that are not built into the package, where the administrator of the board can create complex BBCodes to allow the use of JavaScript or iframe functions in posts, for example, embedding a YouTube or Google Video complete with viewer directly into a post.

===Emoticon===
{{Main|Emoticon}}
An [[emoticon]], or ''smiley'', is a symbol or combination of symbols used to convey emotional content in written or message form. Forums implement a system through which some of the text representations of emoticons (e.g., <code>xD</code>, <code>:p</code>) are rendered as a small image. Depending on what part of the world the forum's topic originates from (since most forums are international), smilies can be replaced by other forms of similar graphics; an example would be [[kaoani]] (e.g., <code>*(^O^)*</code>, <code>(^-^)b</code>), or even text between special symbols (e.g., :blink:, :idea:).

===Poll===
Most forums implement an [[opinion poll]] system for threads. Most implementations allow for single-choice or multi-choice (sometimes limited to a certain number) when selecting options, as well as private or public display of voters. Polls can be set to expire after a certain date or, in some cases, after a number of days from their creation. Members vote in a poll, and a statistic is displayed graphically.

===Other features===
An ''ignore list'' allows members to hide posts of other members that they do not want to see or have a problem with. In most implementations, they are referred to as ''foe list'' or ''ignore list''. The posts are usually not hidden but minimized, with only a small bar indicating a post from the user on the ''ignore list'' is there.<ref name="vBFAQDTU" /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.phpbb.com/community/faq.php#f61 |title=PhpBB FAQ: How can I add / remove users to my Friends or Foes list? |publisher=PhpBB.com |access-date=2008-09-14 |archive-date=2008-09-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080913215458/http://www.phpbb.com/community/faq.php#f61 |url-status=live }}</ref> Almost all Internet forums include a ''member list'', which allows the display of all forum members with an integrated search feature. Some forums will not list members with zero posts, even if they have activated their accounts.

Many forums allow users to give themselves an ''avatar''. An avatar is an image that appears beside all of a user's posts in order to make the user more recognizable. The user may upload the image to the forum database or provide a link to an image on a separate website. Each forum has limits on the height, width, and data size of avatars that may be used; if the user tries to use an avatar that is too big, it may be scaled down or rejected.

Similarly, most forums allow users to define a ''signature'' (sometimes called a ''sig''), which is a block of text, possibly with BBCode, that appears at the bottom of all of the user's posts. There is a character limit on signatures, though it may be so high that it is rarely hit. Often, the forum's moderators impose manual rules on signatures to prevent them from being obnoxious (for example, being extremely long or having flashing images) and issue warnings or bans to users who break these rules. Like avatars, signatures may improve the recognizability of a poster. They may also allow the user to attach information to all of their posts, such as proclaiming support for a cause, noting facts about themselves, or quoting humorous things that have previously been said on the forum.

A ''subscription'' is a form of automated notification integrated into the software of most forums. It usually notifies the member either by email or on the site when the member returns. The option to subscribe is available for every thread while logged in. Subscriptions work with ''read marking'', namely the property of ''unread'', which is given to the content never served to the user by the software.

Recent developments in some popular implementations of forum software have brought ''social network features and functionality''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://nodebb.org/|title=NodeBB|website=NodeBB|access-date=2017-10-28|archive-date=2017-09-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170929144241/https://nodebb.org/|url-status=live}}</ref> Such features include personal galleries and pages, as well as social networks like [[Online chat|chat]] systems.
Most forum software is now fully customizable, with "hacks" or "modifications" readily available to customize a person's forum to theirs and their members' needs.

Often forums use "[[HTTP cookie|cookies]]", or information about the user's behavior on the site sent to a user's browser and used upon re-entry into the site. This is done to facilitate automatic login and to show a user whether a thread or forum has received new posts since his or her last visit. These may be disabled or cleared at any time.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fanforum.com/faq.php?faq=vb_user_maintain#faq_vb_why_register |title=FAQ: User Maintenance |publisher=Fan Forum |access-date=2012-10-31 |archive-date=2012-10-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121022092636/http://www.fanforum.com/faq.php?faq=vb_user_maintain#faq_vb_why_register |url-status=live }}</ref>