As the author of this forum module and the Q&A module (Community Exchange), I am going to try and keep this short. 

The Community Exchange is meant to aid users in finding and answering questions even before they are asked. In the traditional forum model, a single conversation can easily spark multiple 'sub-conversations' and spirals (sometimes, unintended) into many separate topics that can even spread multiple threads and forums. While this is great for discussions, when people are looking for direct answers to questions this is not a good solution. Based on their design, forums do not do anything to 'help' a user find an answer. They do not 'search' as they ask a question, they have a forced structure, posts easily get lost over time and they are clouded with conflicting content even in the same thread (there is a lot of noise, no easy way to determine quality of answers provided). The organization of a forum can also be intimidating. Take our site (at this time), it has over 100 individual forums. People new to the community aren't always clear on where to go (which leads to posts ending up in the wrong spot). In the Q&A module, they don't have to 'go' anywhere. From pretty much any view in the module, they just click "Ask a Question". 

Another aspect is that answers to questions can sometimes change over time. For example, had someone asked the question "what css classes should I use to style a form" before DNN 6.0, I would give a very different answer then compared to what I would provide today. So at the time of the original question the answer i provided at that time was correct. However, a year later I could comeback and add another answer which is correct at the time of 6.0 through present day.

So, if you are deciding between which to use it really comes down to are you trying to debate or get an answer to a question. If you want an open debate/discussion or it is privileged content (closed viewing audience), use the forums. If you have a direct question, ask it in the community exchange. 

As for some other comments I saw in this thread: Despite what some may think/feel, this was not some evil consipiracy by DNN Corp. to confuse people (mu huh huh haaa!). This module was actually the result of a Day of DNN in Chicago where people got together and discussed a better alternative to forums. Also, just adding voting to forum posts is not nearly enough to solve the problems in the forum model, you would have to address what I touched on above plus more.

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Chris Paterra

Get direct answers to your questions in the Community Exchange.

Costas, some of the details are certainly opinionated. However, STRONG and BRAVE moderators are not available in all communities and sometimes that type of moderation does more harm than good. I agree that big communities should have a manager but the modern way of dealing with things is a more open approach in this social world (people are going to say it about you on your site or on Twitter regardless of your moderation policy). I do believe strongly that there is still a place for forums today, however, trying to use them with a one size fits all approach is not really acceptable these days. 

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Chris Paterra

Get direct answers to your questions in the Community Exchange.