What are the problems that online forums solve?

It's true that forums provide information - that is the problem they "solve". But as Amy Jo Kim said over 12 years ago "people come for the information and they stay for the relationships." http://www.amazon.com/Community-Building-Web-Strategies-Communities/dp/0201874849 For a large percentage of users they provide an informational need - but the majority of your active users are there to interact with each other. Quora style platforms won't impact those people who are no longer seeking information, but looking to fulfil a social need in way that cannot be better addressed elsewhere.

Forums exist and thrive for a number of reasons. The most important reasons, in my opinion,  are: 1. Forum are usually topic/subject based. I know if I go to a forum for video editors that most of the people on there will have some expertise because other people just wouldn't be interested. 2. Technical help/advice/information from people that are experts in their field. 3. Forums are also an excellent place for business to listen to feedback from their users. There is a lot of info about that in the book "Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies." 4. Anonymity: I think a lot of people still participate in forums because unlike other social media they are able to express themselves without necessarily declaring who they are in real life.

They can be good for many topics or any subject that people are interested in, clubs and societies can have a common meeting place to plan meetings and exchange ideas or you can build a community site around any idea you have. I have moderated forums in the past and any forums must have direction and be closely supervised, not always easy to get it right especially sorting out arguments trolls and spammers and keeping the community secure at the same time. I only just added a forum to my website and it looks a bit empty at the moment, but it gives people an option to provide some free help and support, therapy can be a scary option for some people or to costly. I think you either like forums or dislike them, I personally don't like face book much and closed my account a long time ago but many do prefer it What I like about a forum is the ability to experiment such as I am by providing a Skype option that I can bring in over time and see if it will work. I think forums can be more personal and while helping you stay anonymous as long as you use common sense.

Peer-to-peer learning on a predetermined topic, as exemplified by Exploring Social Media (case study here: http://bloomfire.com/showcase/#&panel1-1) Software technical support, where the vendor and customers can trade tips, as exemplified by SpinWeb (case study here: http://bloomfire.com/showcase/#&panel1-2) Continuous support and on-going coaching for like-minded professionals who are alumni of the same training program, as exemplified by Advantage Performance Group (case study here: http://bloomfire.com/showcase/#&panel1-11)

Ask yourself why people visit a forum. Usually to find an answer. Otherwise you wouldn't even bother visiting a forum. Traditional forum software will eventually evolve to how sites like Quora and StackExchange work - ask a question, get back an answer. Nothing more to it.

You can simply visit Bhonko and file a complaint against some malpractices offered by different brands and multinational corporations. Afterwards, the http://bhonko.in/ India Bhonko will refer the complaint directly to the competent authority of the concerned organization. The team members of Bhonko will ask for the inconvenience caused to the concerned person. They will keep a follow up with the concerned organization and update you via SMS and Email. Finally Bhonko will assist the person approaching the consumer court directly.

Forums (partially) fill the knowledge gap presented by the boundless permutations of real-world scenarios that are impossible and/or cost-prohibitive for a product's technical support documentation to cover.