Wikipedia explains online forums basically as a place to ask questions of multiple people at one time and get many responses. The threads are usually archived and can be used as a research tool. The posters sometimes use their real names or they can create a fictitious name and even persona. It is up to each of us to take the information given and decide if what has been posted is of value to us.
The Team Run Smart web site is well rounded with great articles by the coaches, blogs by the Pro's and forums that gives members a chance to ask questions. Articles are great, blogs are interesting but.... they are one persons opinion on a subject while the questions asked in the forums give back many opinions. The forums give the members a voice to ask and to reply to questions. The original posters (OP) usually will receive many replies and they can make the decision to which reply best fits their operation. The side benefit is that others reading the threads also gain knowledge about a variety of subjects.
Team Run Smart has five forums at this time:
Truck Smart - Your truck is your business
Fuel Smart - Fill up on Fuel Efficiency
Business Smart - For drivers like you, business always comes first
Health Smart - Welcome to the Health Smart Forum
Live Smart - Welcome to the Live Smart Forum
The positive atmosphere of the Team Run Smart web site and the back ground that is given on the coaches and the pro's makes it rather easy to feel as if you know many of the people and from what angle they are replying from. An expediter team does not usually give the same reply a solo regional guy will give to many posts.
What I like about the forums compared to chat rooms is the ability to research comments and threads years and months down the road. A comment or thread might not interest me at the precise moment it is posted but later on I might need to know more about that subject. I like being able to choose what information fits me instead of one person telling me what they think I need to know.
The more users that get involved with the forums and post the better the forums become. Each of us is able to ask a specific question about a product, a business practice, a favorite place to stop or walk, how to better prepare for winter and summer, our imagination is the boundary when posting online. Each of us can reply to questions asked as there is usually no right answer or wrong question.
When we first started thinking of getting into over the road trucking forums where a place for us to read others thoughts and tips on how to start on the right foot in trucking. When we decided we wanted to learn about expediting once again we went to an expedite site with forums. We quickly learned to sift through some of the comments and found people that we felt always gave good replies. During our time of research we were "lurkers" afraid to ask or reply to questions we only read. After we bought our first Freightliner we realized we had a LOT more questions to ask and as our experience grew we answered more question then we asked. Posting that first question was tough and I spent at least a week agonizing over how to ask the question and then another couple of days before I could actually click on the submit button. I am now a moderator on Expeditersonline and have been for the last five years.
I have since found that there are many people out there willing to lend a helping hand, or give their insight so we do not have the same problem they experienced. Once again the saying comes to my mind "The more we give, the more we get." Check out the forums and see what you think, post questions, reply to questions and get involved!
Link to Forums
Team Run Smart
Expediters Online