A discussion board is an internet application that allows people to have online conversations. Discussion boards are referred to as web forums, message boards, internet forums, community forums, discussion groups, bulletin boards, and simply forums. A discussion board is an internet application that allows people to have online conversations. Discussion boards are referred to as web forums, message boards, internet forums, community forums, discussion groups, bulletin boards, and simply forums. Forums, which are folders containing messages on a specific subject, make up a discussion board. In addition, threads can be found in forums. A thread is a collection of news related to a single query or topic. A message is an individual contribution to the discourse. Many organizations, including companies and educational institutions, have adopted discussion forums. In the late 1990s, for example, several college lecturers began using these boards as a teaching tool.