Online bulletin boards (also known as message boards or forums) are online communication systems where one can share, request, or discuss information on any topic. While email is a way to chat privately with one or more people over the Internet, online bulletin boards are completely public. A Text message can be read (and answered) by anyone in the world who has access to the Internet or a particular online service that provides a message board. A large collection of Internet bulletin boards is known as a newsgroup. Thousands of newsgroups exist on the World Wide Web, each dedicated to a single topic, making it easy for anyone to navigate the information contained in it.

Online bulletin boards work in a very simple way. Anyone can start a conversation on a particular topic and wait for answers. These lines of dialogue are known as threads. Some threads can go on indefinitely, and some posts risk not getting answers. Long threads often find people not only responding to original posts but also to subsequent comments as well. This can lead to some confusion since recent posts on long threads are often unrelated to the original topic.

1+1 Research uses an Online Bulletin board for researches involving long-term discussions where respondents need to share their opinion and thoughts more clearly and often. Additionally, participants can log in at their convenience which allows more time to express their thoughts.