When searching out blog or forum posts we are often guided to look out for "do follow" sites where our link will get counted toward whatever goal we are aiming at, typically either traffic or a backlink.
The "no follow" movement occurred because people used forums to post on given topics just to have their link posted on the page.
It wasn't necessarily because they wanted to give genuine feedback.
It was merely because they just wanted to have their link count of the forum for their own benefit.
Forums caught onto this and put "no follow" on the script of their page causing any link on their pages to not be counted by any search engine.
In brief, that little script change made it so a backlink would be meaningless.
Do follow blogs and forums (far less forums now) that allow for links on their pages to be counted by search engines.
Blog owners just need to be careful now in regulating which posts they authorize to show on their sites because the written post made may be entirely irrelevant to the topic initially posted.
Many forums now strictly enforce guidelines against trying to link back to one's various sites including but not isolated to: affiliate links and cost per action offers.
This movement is both good for forums and blogs but bad for many marketers.
The solution? Find a better and more ethical way of creating a backlink or getting traffic to one's site or offer.
People often find that the high number of no follow forums and blogs is a hindrance to their marketing efforts.
It is, but only to the degree that you cannot creatively figure out a way to get better traffic with or without the use of blogs and forums.
How savvy a marketer can you be?