I read this in a blog. Hope it helps
Forums are a place for you to get any poker question you might have answered, learn about poker, make new poker friends, and get in on some great freerolls to help you build your bankroll. There are many types of forums from huge honking forums that bombard you with offers and ads like a night at vegas. There are dead forums where little goes on.There are specialized forums from only wanting "bling" type poker players to "gossip" forums that delight in trash talking to snob forums that require you to make 200 posts before letting you in to their events. There are even unethical forums dedicated to stealing the passwords from other forums freerolls.
Then there are some really great to good forums. It is up to you to decide which ones you like that best. In any case, you must realize that all forums make money by you signing up to a poker site through the forum links and ads that you will see on the forums pages.
Now, don't worry about this taking any money from you. It doesn't.Whether you sign up for a poker site directly from the poker site itself, or sign up through the link to that poker site on a forum, makes no difference to the poker site at all, nor to you. It only makes a difference to THE FORUM THAT YOU SIGNED UP (for the poker site).
This is why it should make a difference to you the poker noobie.For one, you probably haven't yet downloaded and registered at all or even many of the available poker sites. Thus my point is that you should very carefully think before downloading a poker site for the first time. You can make a big difference to the forum that you download/link from, as the poker site will reward them (the forum) for finding a new player and getting them to sign up to that poker site. The forum, then in turn, sets up freerolls and other events to reward you, the player.
My ultimate point is, find a forum you like and feel comfortable with, and that you plan on becoming involved in. Then sign up for new poker sites ONLY through the forum links. It doesn't cost you a penny,and it really helps the forum grow and rewards you, the forum member with even better freerolls and special events.
Or, you could just squander this opportunity to, help yourself in the long run, by signing up for poker sites willy nilly at forums that you probably wont be returning to or using much.