agree, most likely two copies, one in the database, the other flat XML files. Using XML has a few advantages:
1. it will be easy to change the look and feel of the BBS in the future by modifying XSLT stylesheets
2. it reduces the load on the server, since the file is smaller than a corresponding html file and the transformation is on the client-side
Actually, it also provides opportunities for users to create their own portal into the vast CSDN archive