Discussion Boards - Friend or Foe?

In all of the online courses I have taught or participated in, discussion board work comprises a substantial part of the course grade. Some "scoffers" have said that discussion work can be considered "busy-work" where a student can "fluff" their way through the assignment. In truth, I have found that it really is one of the most difficult tasks for students to complete. I am wondering, why does this usually seem to be the case?

In theory, we want the discussion board to be a meaningful interaction and conversation, as we might have in a regular classroom setting. In reality, we often get students posting responses like, "nice post" or "I agree, good job!"

How can we teach students to talk to each other online?

Certainly, one way is for us to model the example ourselves in our posts and interactions, but how else might we try to encourage authentic engagement? Some teachers setup guidelines like requiring certain word counts, requiring a certain number of posts, asking for students to include citations and questions to other students and the like. Is this really effective? I do know that when I have not presented some guidelines, in hopes that the discussion would just occur naturally, it did not. What I have also found is that often students will badger me to death until I give them some specifics on what to do. Usually what happens when I do give a list of guidelines, students will do just that and not think outside the box. They will limit themselves and their thoughts to those constraints.

I often wonder if one of the reasons students are drawn to following a requirement list is because they don't know each other as they might in a face to face conversation in a traditional classroom setting. It can be hard to talk and discuss with others when you don't feel aware of who is on the other end of the computer. In most courses, there is no real opportunity for meaningless "chit-chat" or "get-to know-you" conversations. I am wondering if some social networking tools, can help to address this need. Might it be easier to discuss those valid course topics when you have a little more background or insight in regards to those you are sharing and interacting with on the discussion board? Could interactions using social networking tools help a student know a little more about their classmates and professors, and whether they are friends or foes?

This is a theory I would like to investigate, but I am not certain what restrictions we have. Can we ask or encourage students to use social networking tools, like Twitter and Facebook, or would we then be forcing another additional requirement on an already demanding curriculum? Also, would we then become in any way responsible or associated with any mishaps like SPAM, inappropriate content, or controversial pictures and topics student post on such venues?

What do you think?