Are you one of the too-many people who avoid online discussion boards because you've heard that those "chat boards" are full of stock hipsters and other scammers? If so, you're missing out.
Let's define our terms first. Chat rooms are where people can "talk" online in real time, typing interactive "conversations." Only people who are there at the same time are communicating with each other. With chats, there often isn't any record of who said what once the chat is finished. It's a somewhat ephemeral form of communication and this is where you'll often find people trying to pick each other up.
Discussion boards (or message boards), however, are where people post messages that can be read later. In our Fool Community, for example, we have thousands of discussion boards that cover individual companies as well as other investment and non-investment topics. Examples include a Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT) board, an Apple Computer (NASDAQ:AAPL) board, an Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) board, and boards on drip investing (via direct investing plans, that is), low-P/E stocks, index funds, pet lovers, losing weight, and building and maintaining a home.
These messages remain available indefinitely. You can post a question and come back an hour later or three weeks later to see who has responded. If you find a board you like, you can read posts on it going back several years.
If you still need more convincing, here are a bunch of additional boards we have -- just remember that they're only a few out of thousands: Astronomy; Photography; African-American Fools; General Aviation; Humor and Urban Legends; Card & Board Games; Death and Grieving; Great Movies; Eclectic Library; Single Fools; Foolish Golf Tips; Television Banter; Quitting Smoking; Poems and Quotes; Surviving Cancer; Christian Fools; Islam; Atheist Fools; Major League Baseball; Genealogy; Haiku; Beer; Help with This STUPID Computer!; Military Fools; NASCAR; Retired Fools; Teachers; College Fools; Newlywed Fools; Divorce; Gardening; Health and Nutrition; LASIK Eye Surgery; Music & Musicians; Parents and Expecting Parents; Adoption; Single Parents; Homeschooling; Political Asylum; Aspiring Writers; Recipes/Cooking; Vegetarian and Vegan Fools; The Wine Cellar; Wireless World; The Juggler's Club; Living Below Your Means; Computer Games.
Although some discussion boards do get unruly and harbor hypesters, they're not all like that -- not by a long shot. In Fooldom, we have staffers -- not to mention friendly and helpful Fools like you -- strolling through our boards, keeping the peace (and cracking jokes). We remove posts that violate our rules, as we want our corner of cyberspace to be friendly and welcoming. Discussion boards can be great places to get answers to your questions and to learn about companies that interest you. Give 'em a whirl.
For more personal finance and investing basics, visit our Personal Finance area, our Investing Basics area, and our Fool's School. You can also learn a lot via our acclaimed How-to Guides and online seminars and our book, The Motley Fool Money Guide: Answers to Your Questions About Saving, Spending and Investing .
