A discussion is a process of communication where two or more parties can be involved unless you like to argue with yourself which is not a problem as long as it's not most of the time.
"To be or not to be" - a quote from William Shakespeare's famous play Hamlet wherein the feigning prince contemplates about life.
The purpose of this action is typically to talk about something, exchange ideas or perhaps in order to come up with a decision on a particular subject matter.
Same with the play, the character express sorrow on how cruel life can be but things that ending it could be worse, which is not a thought that a normal person should be thinking of.
Joining discussions is a delightful way of learning new things that you may not have expected.
Knowledge is vast when more and more people get involved since any person from the group may have several and different opinions which can make a topic extra interesting.
Conflicting point of views creates more room for other discussions therefore other windows of opportunities to familiarize you with certain ideas open up.
With different opinions, arguments may arise which may lead the discussion away from the main topic.
And so, a mediator may be needed.
A perfect example of this is a typical scenario during elections wherein a debate takes place between two or more candidates on a topic of why people should vote for them.
It normally starts with qualifications, achievements and project plans to make the community better then leads to several banters for humor's sake and can lead to arguments.
Get the picture? The internet on the other hand is a bit different since participating individuals or groups do not talk physically or face to face.
This is true in forum websites where members are free to type and post whatever comes to mind without any fear of getting assaulted by the other person whom they are discussing with.
Keyboard warriors as some people may call them.
Construction criticism is natural and tolerable, sarcasm and swearing due to miscommunication on the other hand makes it an unpleasant place for discussion.
Instead of sharing opinions, people end up ridiculing each other and everything goes off topic.
To be honest, this scenario is sometimes fun to follow, but not if you are one of the individuals being bullied.
In order to avoid this from happening, some websites employ a forum moderator wherein they act as a mediator to avoid conflicts and inappropriate posts, redirects unrelated topics to the correct thread as well as facilitate communication and enforcing guidelines in order to make sure to maintain a wholesome environment for all participants to enjoy.
Forum moderation is an integral part of content moderation services wherein it makes certain that every discussion is free or unfettered and most of the time constructively helpful.