An article distribution system is provided that can find threads that are active for articles among the users of a community. A user terminal for receiving the contribution of articles that are viewed among users is connected by way of a communication network to an article distribution device for registering articles and appraisal data in an article database. The article distribution device is provided with an article distribution unit, an article registration unit for performing registration, and an article appraisal unit. The article distribution unit receives article distribution requests from the user terminal and transmits article registration data that are relevant to the user terminal. The article registration unit displays article registration data that have been transmitted by the article distribution unit and receives the input of articles that contain cited portions to register these article registration data in the article database. Based on the articles that have been registered in the article registration unit, the article appraisal unit calculates appraisal values that include the article volume, the citation volume, and the citation ratio for each article and each thread and registers these appraisal data in the article database.