I'm a member of several community message boards and forums which relate to my hobbies and interests, e.g. crafts, astronomy, paranormal and money saving. I use the message boards for different purposes - sometimes I'm looking for specific information or advice from fellow community members, sometimes I'm just browsing and other times I just want to connect with other people who share my interests. My main issue with message boards and forums is that it can sometimes be difficult to interpret exactly how a statement is intended when it has been written instead of spoken. Quite often, I've read a comment by someone that was meant to be sarcastic or in jest and ends up causing offence and an argument. It's times like that when it can feel quite uncomfortable to read those messages. As with all communities, there are always personality clashes and there have been some occasions when I've actually had to take a break from particular forums because there is someone on there who is driving me up the wall - either with rudeness, misinformation or simple lack of respect to other community members. Some forums can be fantastic, such as support forums for people with specific health conditions or personal circumstances. I was a member of several pregnancy forums when I was expecting my children and found them a great reassurance at times that everything I was experiencing was normal! The other benefit of forums is that you can feel more free to express yourself because it's anonymous - it's a lot easier to type something anonymously than it might be to say it in person.