- The Time Sink Theorem: A forum with an associated chatroom, IRC channel or similar will be less active than it would have been if it had no chatroom.
- The Twin-World Hypothesis: Over time, the forum and the chatroom will develop into separate communities, as the members of the chatroom eschew the forum and the members who join the forum remain unaware of the chatroom's existence, as the people who could have introduced them to this chatroom have left the forums for that very chatroom. Any joining forum member who joins the chatroom will inevitably leave shortly therweafter due to the Lock-The-Gates phenomenon mentioned below.