First, welcome.

This is a forum. A place to have discussions on various bipolar related topics (although on the main forum you will see many other discussion forums) that are not in "real time." That is, you post something and people will respond over time (generally a short period of time). It's a way of having a discussion, but not in real time.

A chatroom, however, is real time, like instant messaging. Or talking on the phone (except it's text on a computer). One person says something and someone else answers right away and so on and so forth. It's a real time conversation.

Personally, I prefer forums. You can get to know people better and develop a sense of community. You can also search the forums for information you may be interested in because it's all here, saved.

I hope that clears it up. And again, welcome!