An Internet forum is a facility on the World Wide Web for holding discussions, or the web application software used to provide the facility. Web-based forums, which date from around 1995, perform a similar function as the dial-up bulletin boards and Internet newsgroups that were numerous in the 1980s and 1990s. A sense of virtual community often develops around forums that have regular users. Technology, computer games, and politics are popular areas for forum themes, but there are forums for a huge number of different topics .

Internet forums are also commonly referred to as web forums, message boards, discussion boards, discussion forums, discussion groups, bulletin boards (but see also dial-up bulletin boards), fora (the proper Latin plural) or simply forums.

Culture

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Internet forums are prevalent in several developed countries. In terms of countable posts, Japan is far in the lead with over two million posts per day on their largest forum, 2channel. The United States does not have any one large forum, but instead several hundred thousand smaller forums, the largest of which are GameFAQs, Gaia Online, and IGN. Other countries such as China, the Netherlands, and France are also home to hundreds of independent forums. Some countries such as Finland and Sweden do not have many prevalent forums despite having open and easily available Internet access. As of yet no study has been done on the prevalence of forums in countries around the world. It is also dubious as to whether any country has its own fora, as - especially in the English language - contributors to a forum often come from outside the country in which the forum is hosted. There is often not a 1-1 relationship between languages and countries: for example, English language fora are contributed to by people all over the world, whilst Japanese language fora are likely to be contributed to only by Japanese people, but Japanese people also contribute to English language fora, so there is no 1-1 relationship between Japanese language fora and Japanese people contributing to fora.

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Sify.com News

25 killed in suicide blast at Pak MP’s house
Tue, 07 Oct 2008 10:37:07 +0530
Bhakkar (Pakistan): At least 25 people were killed and 60 injured in a powerful suicide blast at the house of an MNA (member of national assembly) belonging to the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), here on Monday evening.
Bush to sign nuclear bill into law on Wednesday
Tue, 07 Oct 2008 11:35:29 +0530
US President George W Bush will sign into law on Wednesday the Congressional ratification of the India-US civil nuclear deal to pave the way for the two countries to formally ink the implementing 123 accord.
Bajrang Dal a suitable case for ban: Cong
Mon, 06 Oct 2008 23:39:29 +0530
The demand for imposing a ban on Sangh Parivar outfits Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishas on Monday gained momentum with the Congress saying these organisations were a "suitable case" for such action.
Murder convict held after 26 years on the run
Mon, 06 Oct 2008 22:51:49 +0530
A 52-year-old murder convict, absconding for 26 years, has been arrested in Uttarakhand, Delhi police said on Monday.
Farmer carves out record with huge pumpkin
Mon, 06 Oct 2008 22:18:05 +0530
That's a lot of pumpkin seeds. A Canadian farmer has won a contest in California with a pumpkin that weighs more than 1,500 pounds.
At least 30 killed in Tibet quake
Tue, 07 Oct 2008 10:39:49 +0530
At least 30 people were killed and scores injured when a strong earthquake measuring 6.6 on the Richter Scale struck Lhasa, capital of Tibet and adjoining areas on Monday, the local government said.

India-The Times of India

Assam toll reaches 47 as clashes continue
Police used helicopters to spot armed mobs in Assam, where clashes between Bodos and Muslim immigrants have left 47 dead and tens of thousands homeless.
Curfew lifted in Kashmir Valley
The curfew imposed in Kashmir Valley in the wake of separatists leaders' call for a march was lifted this morning, more than 50 hours after it was enforced.
In brief: Different terror modules
Given below is a list of suspects supposed to be involved in different bomb blasts in India.
Mansoor Peerbhoy a scapegoat, says family
The family of software engineer Mohammed Mansoor Asghar Peerbhoy (31), who was arrested by the Mumbai police on Monday, is vehement that he has been falsely implicated in the case
'Tauqeer a media creation'
The crime branch of the Mumbai police said Tauqeer was just a "media creation". The ATS had described him as a 'tech-savvy' person and one of the key operatives in the IM module.
Stop attack on Tamils: India to Lanka
NSA M K Narayanan summoned the Sri Lankan deputy high commissioner and expressed unhappiness at the violence against Tamil civilians.

Hindustan Times News Feeds 'India'

Bengal: 27 infants  dead in 7 days
Two more newborns died at the Baharampore sub-divisional hospital in Murshidabad district on Monday, taking the number of infants who have died in the district in a week to 27, reports Sujit Nath.
Impeaching Justice Sen: Govt treads cautiously
Two months after Chief Justice of India KG Balakrishnan recommended the removal of Calcutta High Court judge Soumitra Sen on charges of corruption, the government remains unsure whether the move would succeed.
Man behind terror mails held: Police
The Mumbai police on Monday claimed to have foiled a plan to carry out blasts across the city by arresting 15 “key operatives” of the Indian Mujahideen, reports Debasish Panigrahi and Presley Thomas.
Death of a dream
A trip to Mecca. Europe trip for parents. A new car. All plans cancelled. Like this Mumbai man, thousands of Indians have been touched by the global economic meltdown, reports Neelesh Misra.
Freedom fighter Laxmi Indira Panda dies
Having spent the past 60 years in utter penury, Laxmi Indira Panda died this afternoon, without ever knowing that the country she fought for had finally recognised her worth, reports Nandini R Iyer.
Not Delhi, parties now in Gurgaon, Noida
Though there have been individual cases of “cocaine busts”, Delhi Police has never managed to bust any “rave party” in the city. Police say such parties do happen but have shifted to the fringes like Noida and Gurgaon.

Top Headlines

Tata's Nano set to get new home: Modi’s Gujarat
Tatas are understood to have decided to set up the Rs 1-lakh Nano car project in Gujarat, an announcement for which is expected to be in the evening on Tuesday.
New face of terror: Educated and professionals
Arrest of 15 more men by Mumbai police in connection with bomb blasts across the country and the busting of the 'media wing' of the Indian Mujahideen has laid bare a network of 'educated men from respectable families', some of them with 'highly paid salaries'
Indian American in charge of Wall St bailout effort
US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson has put an Indian American of Kashmiri origin in charge of the George Bush administration’s $700-billion rescue effort for distressed financial institutions.
Bush to sign Indo-US nuclear deal on Wednesday
President Bush will sign legislation opening a potentially lucrative nuclear trade with India on Wednesday, the White House said on Monday.
Income Tax grievances to be registered online
Tax payers will now be able to lodge their grievances with taxman at click of a mouse.

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