Good one, Yogesh 
Okay, it feels a bit odd replying to what I wrote myself, but...uhm...okay, here we go ;-D
-does the anonymous interaction in the Norton forums/lack of face-to-face contact make you feel more comfortable or more uncomfortable?
It's both for me. Anonymity gives one a certain distance, perhaps (but not always or automatically!) security. At the same time, I sometimes wonder who is behind the screen name and the computer, and, in some instances, whether they are indeed who they claim to be. It's easy to shift identities in cyberspace, when no one can actually see or hear you or just be aware of you physically.
is writing in the forums more like speaking for you? Do you feel that you have to be more formal or that you can be more informal when posting in the forums? (is this dependent on whether you are posting to a board, where everyone can view what you have written, or whether you are using the private messaging system?)
I've squeezed the speaking and formal questions together because I find them difficult to separate ;-D
I am more formal in my writing (and also shy) when posting to the boards, and more informal in PMs. When PMing, I feel I can "speak" more, but it is also important to me that I don't come over as stiff or distant in the boards, so I often include unusual/insane phrasing (which I also do when speaking), and I am always changing my signatures (plus switching between my two main avatars - the ladybug and the grim reaper) as my signature marks.
Also, there is a strong element of written oral speech in the forum, which sometimes reminds me of chatroom communication :-) Proximity and distance, written and oral speech are wonderfully fused in cyberspace, and I see this every day in the forum :-)
-what attracts you to the Norton forums that you return to visit it on a more or less regular basis even when you are not experiencing an issue with your Norton product?
I come here because of the people and the great friends I have made here, and because I enjoy helping when and where I can. In fact, the reason why I kept on returning to the forum after I signed up and my questions were answered was because I made friends with a certain kitty (mo 
) and would keep returning to exchange PMs, and also because I was impressed with the friendliness and patience of those who had helped me with my issue; as I visited the forum more frequently, I also began to read my way through the threads, and finally started (very shyly) to post when I thought that I could make myself useful in a thread :-)
I love the replies and comments this thread has been receiving so far - thanks a lot for your input and thoughts, it's really super-interesting to read how you experience the forum interaction; and I myself discovered that I had to think quite a bit when I was responding to my own questions
dbrisendine: No, there is not going to be another paper The paper was too stiff and the language too formal; I don't think those who read it could really interact with it. This time, it's curiosity, or rather, an interest in forum interaction and in how forum users perceive and experience said interaction :-)
