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A guestbook is a logging system that allows visitors of a website to leave a public comment. Traditionally, the term applied to the actual ledgers held, for that same purpose, at B&Bs and museums. Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Wiktionary (a portmanteau of wiki and dictionary) is a multilingual, Web-based project to create a free content dictionary, available in over 150 languages. ... A website (alternatively, Web site or web site) is a collection of Web pages, images, videos and other digital assets that is hosted on one or several Web server(s), usually accessible via the Internet, cell phone or a LAN. A Web page is a document, typically written in HTML... Tourists of various nationalities chatting over breakfast at a B&B in Quebec City. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

It is possible in some guestbooks for visitors to express their thoughts about the site or its subject. Generally, they do not require the poster to create a user account, as it is an informal method of dropping off a quick message. The purpose of a website guestbook is to display the kind of visitors the site gets, including the part of the world they reside in, and gain feedback from them. This allows the webmaster to assess and improve their site. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Feedback loop. ... A webmaster is a person responsible for designing, developing, marketing, or maintaining Web site(s). ...

A guestbook is generally a script, which is usually remotely-hosted and written in a language such as Perl, PHP, Python or ASP. Many free guestbook hosts and scripts exist. Scripting languages (commonly called scripting programming languages or script languages) are computer programming languages that are typically interpreted and can be typed directly from a keyboard. ... Wikibooks has a book on the topic of Perl Programming Perl is a dynamic programming language created by Larry Wall and first released in 1987. ... For other uses, see PHP (disambiguation). ... Python is a high-level programming language first released by Guido van Rossum in 1991. ... Active Server Pages (ASP) is Microsofts server-side script engine for dynamically-generated web pages. ...

Often, e-mail addresses, the visitor's site's URLs and IP addresses are collected, and sometimes published. A good example of this is the free flat file PHP guestbook called BBguestbook which features emoticons or smileys and anti-spam scripts. A guestbook is not intended to be a place for discussion. Due to this, a guestbook is different from a chat room (which is more or less realtime communication), or an Internet forum (which is intended to be a location for discussions), or a blog (which is intended for regular updates and more involved exchanges). An -mail address identifies a location to which e-mail messages can be delivered. ... “URL” redirects here. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... A simple diagram depicting conversion of a CSV-format flat file database table into a relational database table. ... The idea of codifying emotional content in written or message form is not new. ... For other uses of smiley and smiley face, see Smiley (disambiguation). ... This article is about electronic spam. ... A chat room or chatroom is a term used primarily by mass media to describe any form of synchronous conferencing, occasionally even asynchronous conferencing. ... A typical Internet forum discussion, with common elements such as quotes and spoiler brackets A page from a forum showcasing emoticons and Internet slang An Internet forum is a web application for holding discussions and posting user generated content. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

Some newer guestbooks include a map that visually displays the visitors' geographic locations. Such guestbooks are sometimes referred to as guestmaps.

See also

• Guestbook spam