Forums are generally set to Active when they're first added, but you may be interested in configuring an announcement forum where posts are read-only, or archiving a forum that's no longer in user.
Let's review forum statuses:
- Active - The forum is visible to members and admins, and open for people to post messages and replies
- Read-Only - The forum is visible to members and admins, but messages and replies cannot be posted.
- Inactive - The forum is not visible to members but it is visible to administrators, coordinators and moderators. Messages and replies are not allowed.
- Archived - The forum is not visible to anyone by default. You cannot delete a forum, but you can archive it so it isn't shown.
By default, the forum search panel is set to show Active forums only. If you need to find a forum with a different status, make sure you update your search filters.