<p><p>Internet is used today as a traditional medium for information exchange and social interaction. One of these is virtual meeting places where people meet and exchange information, socialize and exchange knowledge with each other. The group has chosen to examine the factors affecting the use of web forums, one of the virtual meeting places that exist on the Internet today. And look at how people use the web forum today in the current situation and how to design a web forum.</p><p>A survey was conducted to find out how people look at web forums today, 80 people participated, and they got to talk about what they think about different web forums regarding how and why the use these them. Guidelines on how a web forum should be designed were also developed. An interview was also carried out to a specific audience to see if there were special needs and interests that they had, so that we could take that into account in the development of the guidelines that are to be used in the design for this web forum. The group carried out a user tests on a mockup designed to investigate how people would respond and use the web forums of different age groups.</p><p>The results showed that many users of web forums today are different between users, depending on gender and age. The use of various web forums depends on that they have different needs and interests. This dose so the layout of the web forum must be directed so as to be adapted for any specific audience. Mainly people used web forums as an information source where you can find answers and ask questions to others. Two factors must be fulfilled for a page to be able to grow, and that is trust and credibility. This can be fulfilled by its members if they can create an identity for them self in the virtual meeting place. It is also important for lurkers on a virtual meeting place that they show commitment, support and encourage members to be active participant. The lurker’s role is an important one when the site goes throw its state of maturity and growth.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Keywords:</strong> Web Forum, virtual meeting places, user study.</p></p>
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA/oai:DiVA.org:hik-1992 |
| Date | January 2009 |
| Creators | Vemmenby, Mikael, Helenius, Jessica |
| Publisher | University of Kalmar, School of Communication and Design, University of Kalmar, School of Communication and Design |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | Swedish |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, text |
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