In Moodle what are the advantages of the different site formats?

When setting up a Moodle site, you have to pick a site format. Here is a quick description of the main choices.

• Weekly
  • Pick this and set it for the number of weeks in your class, and it will create a list of weeks down the center block of the site main page with the week dates calculated from the class start date. You can post materials and activities week by week.
• Topics
  • If your class material is is better arranged as a collection of topics, then pick the Topic format and set the number of topics you want. You can add more later. As in Weekly format, it will create a list of spaces for topics down the central block of the site main page. You can add materials and activities in each topic area. You can also indent materials and create an outline format within a topic. This might be preferred for non-course uses of Moodle.
  • We use the Topics formats the most for our research and community Moodle sites at the Grad School of Education. Since most projects go on well beyond the 10 weeks of a quarter this better suits their needs. The same applies to the community Moodle sites we manage.
• Social
  • In the Social format, the central block of the Moodle site is reserved for the Forum, or discussion area. It’s not clear to me whether materials and activities can be added. Does anyone else know?
  • Materials and activities cant be added. We had few professors in Education who wanted the social format and used the Moodle site as a supplemental to the their class for that purpose. You can add attachments in the forum posts, but thats really the only way to add materials in any way.