Having been on a variety of forums for about three decades now, I think a lot about how this and other features can so heavily influence a site. Flat chronolog

Having been on a variety of forums for about three decades now, I think a lot about how this and other features can so heavily influence a site. Flat chronological versus threaded versus a "one-level nest" model. Upvoting, downvoting, flagging. Being able to directly reply to someone. Anonymous by default versus usernames versus sockpuppets versus anon-by-request-to-moderators versus "tripcodes" and so on. Does sorting exist, and if so, what is the default? And then the impact of upvotes and downvotes on that. Up/down versus favorites and bookmarks, favorites versus karma. Everything2 and the long-vanished "XP Pack Rape." The ease of account creation versus the ease of duplicate account creation. My suspicion is that, even more than moderators, nice FAQs, and such, these can influence the forum experience the most.