Originally Posted by
owen
basically a forum is 2 tables. one with the topics and the other with the replies to the topics. You can have a third table with that stores the users. 2 screens one that shows the the threads, another that shows the replies when you click on a thread. Next - 2 forms one that allows you to create a new topic and the other that allows you to post a reply to the topic. The admin pages allow you to delete, edit, etc.
if you want to get really complicated you can add flood control, moderators, categories, virtual threads and access rights.