forum vs forums ??

Discussion in 'vBulletin' started by Suri.CMS, May 1, 2008.

  1. #1
    Hi All,
    I would like to install vBulletin software in my website.

    I am unsure whether to choose forum or forums as sub-folder name for this.

    I like to know which is right usage ?

    www.samplesite.com/forum

    or

    www.samplesite.com/forums

    Please advise !!

    Thanks in advance...
     
    Suri.CMS, May 1, 2008 IP
  2. BlueEew

    BlueEew Well-Known Member

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    #2
    I guess it would just depend on what you want. However myself I prefer forums. vBulletin dot com, and dot org use just forum. I prefer forums that have it forums.
     
    BlueEew, May 1, 2008 IP
  3. Suri.CMS

    Suri.CMS Peon

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    #3
    It's actually interesting that IPB uses the notion 'forums'...
    http://forums.invisionpower.com/
     
    Suri.CMS, May 1, 2008 IP
  4. BlueEew

    BlueEew Well-Known Member

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    #4
    phpBB, myBB, and SMF use /community/. So that would be the most popular. :D
     
    BlueEew, May 1, 2008 IP
  5. Alex Fraiser

    Alex Fraiser Banned

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    #5
    It doesn't really matter I guess. I see /forums/ more than /forum/. anyways.

    I never liked how they use /community/, it's too long IMO. :p
     
    Alex Fraiser, May 1, 2008 IP
  6. amazingcodes

    amazingcodes Peon

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    #6
    most sites use /forum.

    only use forums if it like forums.site.com
     
    amazingcodes, May 1, 2008 IP
  7. BlueEew

    BlueEew Well-Known Member

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    #7
    I don't think that is quite true.
     
    BlueEew, May 1, 2008 IP
  8. Bohol

    Bohol Peon

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    #8
    Singular forum. Easier to remember.
     
    Bohol, May 2, 2008 IP
  9. BlueEew

    BlueEew Well-Known Member

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    #9
    Forum, and Forums. They are basically the same. They are both easy to remember. One is just a little shorter.
     
    BlueEew, May 2, 2008 IP
  10. BeeArcade

    BeeArcade Active Member

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    #10
    why dont you use both of them and redirect to other one
     
    BeeArcade, May 2, 2008 IP
  11. RectangleMan

    RectangleMan Notable Member

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    #11
    My research shows there are advantages to using singular over plural.
     
    RectangleMan, May 5, 2008 IP
  12. Suri.CMS

    Suri.CMS Peon

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    #12
    If you don't mind, can you please share some of your findings...
     
    Suri.CMS, May 5, 2008 IP
  13. RectangleMan

    RectangleMan Notable Member

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    #13
    Yes my findings were to use the singular. If you are asking to share my methodology that's simple. Google Wordtracker and common sense.


    Google - forum results = 4,530,000,000 forums results = 1,780,000,000

    So that's about a 3x difference.

    Wordtracker - search plural and it defaults to singular. Many search engines are smart and understand the difference. So using a plural doesn't benefit you there. It's not always considered a seperate keyword.

    Common Sense - Which of these sentences are correct grammer?

    I am a member of a webmaster forum.
    I am a member of a webmaster forums.

    Singular is obviously the correct grammar. As the results from google show...the word forum is typed more often and that's should mean it's more desirable.
     
    RectangleMan, May 6, 2008 IP
  14. Suri.CMS

    Suri.CMS Peon

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    #14
    Suri.CMS, May 8, 2008 IP
  15. skypeace

    skypeace Well-Known Member

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    #15
    It does not make a difference but forum is more commonly used.
     
    skypeace, May 8, 2008 IP
  16. chopsticks

    chopsticks Active Member

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    #16
    It's all mixed opinions for this I guess, but just out of general stuff digital point uses forums too.

    I guess you could say there are multiple forums on the message board hence meaning "forums" can work as well. If you have just one forum on your message board then you can probably call it forum. It all just depends on your taste and how you prefer it. If people complain about either one on your forum you could poll it to find what your users want.
     
    chopsticks, May 9, 2008 IP
  17. manHa

    manHa Peon

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    #17
    I prefer forums since there's alot of forums in some categories.
     
    manHa, May 10, 2008 IP
  18. timefactor

    timefactor Active Member

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    #18
    I've the subfolder named as /forum, easy to remember.

    btw, what do you guys recommend xxforums.in or xxforum.in (just going to get a domain more relevant to the site)?
     
    timefactor, May 13, 2008 IP
  19. hamedtaha

    hamedtaha Active Member

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    #19
    that is realy cool idea
    im using "forums"
    and now i'll make /forum to redirect to /forums

    thanks man
    :D
     
    hamedtaha, May 13, 2008 IP
  20. Allen

    Allen Peon

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    #20
    In my opinion it depends on the audience (most cases country) you want to target. By that I mean in some contries more common is 'forum' while in the others 'forums' is way ahead. The tricky part appears when you deal with multinational audience (it's a lot easier when your site already have some branding done).

    BeeArcade posted a very good advice on this subject. The only thing I would like to add to it is:

    Choose more popular/commonly used word around your place (the target audience) and redirect the other one to the first one with, e.g.:
    - .htaccess 301 Redirect (saving bandwidth, avoid misleading users, need an Apache mod_htaccess enabled),
    - the automatic redirection metatag inside HEAD section in HTML page (no need for mod_htaccess, but eats your brandwidth and you need a place for a webpage).
     
    Allen, May 16, 2008 IP