Perhaps the single most significant quality of ODFs is that they are asynchronous. In this aspect they hold important middle ground between "standard" web sites and popular interactive technologies such as chat. In a "standard" web site content is determined by the webmaster and there is no room for input from readers. In a chat forum participants are online at the same time and are able to communicate in something similar to a multi-user telephone conversation. One might say that it's all interaction and no content. The fact that ODFs are asynchronous means that discussion and conversation can develop between people who are not online at the same time. One participant can post a message that will be found by another only hours later, and when s/he chooses to respond the original poster may no longer be online. Yet the conversation develops and can be easily accessed, especially if the method of display allows for clear threading. In other words, content is dynamic and is a direct function of the interaction between participants.

A discussion on an ODF would thus be defined as a series of postings by two or more participants that relate, or respond, to a common main topic. The content of the web page of the ODF is, at one and the same time, the "history" of the discussion, and the discussion itself. Because this discussion is asynchronous and is publicly posted others may join in at whatever time, and at whatever point in the threaded conversation that they choose.

Sometimes moderators exist who screen the postings to the ODF, removing messages that are off-topic or that may be offensive. Moderation is not a function of the technology of ODFs, but rather an attempt to create order out of a possibly anarchic situation. This is in part due to the fact that the mechanics of ODFs make them very easy to use, while they in no way influence or determine their content. Anything may be discussed in a forum, and often is. Forums exist for professional communities, for interest groups, and even as promotional tools for commercial web-sites. Individuals who enter these forums are under no obligation to stay "on topic" and examples of messages not related to the topic supposedly under discussion abound. This is a central problem of ODFs and one for which both technical and social solutions are sought.

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