Highlights include:

The Forum Format	Supports multiple categories. Pre-configured by administrator. Supports multiple forums under each category. Pre-configured by administrator. Supports multiple topics under each forum. Authorized users can create their own topic. Supports either multiple tree-structured threading or linear threading. No limit on depth of threads. Keeps track of number of posts and number of views for each topic. Flags un-read messages. Supports optional graemlins (happy face icons) for messages and topics. Includes a keyword search to quickly find messages. For private communication between users, a user can easily send and receive messages through an "IN" box. Favorite topics can be "bookmarked" for easy access. Users can completely control their public profile. They decide what information can be revealed to others, including email address, name, address, phone, interests, etc.
User Management	The forum supports many ways to allow user participation. Options include Standard public forum - anyone can read messages, but a user must register in order to post messages. Anonymous public forum - anyone can read or post messages. Private forum - users must be registered to either read or post messages. Different categories can be configured with different access privileges. Certain users can be made moderators by the administrator. These moderators can control certain topics and remove inappropriate postings if necessary.
Administration	The account administrator has complete control over all forum content - through the Merlin backoffice. View all categories, forums, topics, and messages in an expandable tree structure. Add or delete categories, forums, topics, messages as needed. Topic threads can be temporarily suspended. View, add, delete, modify, suspend registered users. Assign moderator status to specific users.