Proper Forum Terminologies?

[Rob]

I'd like to know the proper terminology for the various hierarchical levels within a forum.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong about the following terminology.

The top level of a Forum is simply called that, a Forum. I see this basically synonymous to "Website", although I know that a Forum can be part of a larger website.
The next level down is called a "Category"
The next level down is called a "Board".
The next level down is called a "Subject".

Frankly, I've never heard the last level called a "Subject". Usually, I see them called "Threads", or occasionally "Topics".
I have also frequently seen Categories and Boards referred to as "Sub-Forums", "Sections", "Sub-Sections" or similar, with no real distinction between the two.

So, what's the correct terminology for these hierarchical levels?

[Kami]

Jun 17, 2024 7:37:15 GMT -8 Rob said:

I'd like to know the proper terminology for the various hierarchical levels within a forum.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong about the following terminology.

The top level of a Forum is simply called that, a Forum. I see this basically synonymous to "Website", although I know that a Forum can be part of a larger website.
The next level down is called a "Category"
The next level down is called a "Board".
The next level down is called a "Subject".

Frankly, I've never heard the last level called a "Subject". Usually, I see them called "Threads", or occasionally "Topics".
I have also frequently seen Categories and Boards referred to as "Sub-Forums", "Sections", "Sub-Sections" or similar, with no real distinction between the two.

So, what's the correct terminology for these hierarchical levels?

I think you're a little bit turned around -- they're still called threads, it's just the column says "subject" to indicate that the words in the column represent the title of the thread is (as opposed to denoting the classification of the function). It's like the subject line of an email, but the email itself isn't called a subject.

The terminology is as follows:

Forum
> Category
>> Board
>>> Subboard
>>> Thread
>>>> Post

It should be noted that subboards are infinitely nesting on PB within a 1,000 board total across the forum, but they are generally only referred to as "subboards" rather than the full sub-sub-sub... etc indicating how far deep they are.

With regards to people using certain terms interchangeably, this is likely because different providers do not care what other providers' terminology uses are and they decide on something specific for their product. When users migrate between platforms, many of them take the terminology they're most comfortable with and use it, assuming (usually erroneously) that the terms are the same at another platform.

I have been a PB user for nearly 20 years so the above hierarchy is correct for PB, and also what I view as "correct" in general... however, the latter is definitely subjective. Ultimately there is no blanket, globally defined terminology, but there is an objectively correct set based on the platform you've chosen.

Hope this helps!