[zetetic]

Originally Posted by filbert1

A forum is generally used for conversations where formatting is not used nearly as often.

That may be true for a lot of forums, but not all of them. In my experience forums that have a more philosophical/educational/debate/science or other intellectual bent tend to utilize the formatting tools much more heavily than your average gaming/chat site. I personally think forums are a lot more aesthetically appealing when people have the tools to format their posts well and take the time to really use them.