It is usually a membership site set up to discuss different events, differing opinions and breaking news in the field of politics.
The better forums are those that have no political bias i.
e.
they are not pro Democrat or Republican but have been set up with the intention of encouraging open and honest debate with participants holding various viewpoints.
The owner and moderators on the site should encourage exchange of opinions as this will make the website more popular and hence will attract more traffic and resulting members.
But they must also moderate the forum correctly.
While arguments are common when anyone discusses politics, it shouldn't be an excuse for one member to abuse another.
The moderator's role in a political forum is to prevent the discussion descending into personal attacks.
At the same time they do not want to cut off an interesting argument.
It is not an easy task but most people can tell the difference between someone who is expressing a viewpoint and those that are just trying to be disruptive.
There is a reason why you probably shouldn't discuss sex, religion or politics at a party.
People tend to hold very strong opinions on the subject.
Some people educate themselves about the various issues and come to political forums to discuss these arguments.
They are willing to listen to what the other people think and will on occasion be convinced by the discussion to change their mind on that particular issue.
But you also have those people who have followed a certain party because that is what their family always voted.
They may not completely understand why they are a Democrat or a Republican but they will defend the policies of the relevant party to the last.
These people tend to start quoting the Constitutional right to freedom of speech when you try to argue the point.
Sometimes it is pointless trying to get into a debate with them and the best thing is to walk away and find political forums populated with people who are more open minded.