Has a forum ever been closed?
Well, there are a few that are invisible to everyone but Mods and other staffers, but I don’t think there’s ever been an instance where, say, General Questions was closed for some reason or another, while the rest remained opened. Is that what you meant?
Yes.
It’s something that comes with the vBB software, which the SDMB has never had occasion to use. For an example of where it’s appropriate, see the top and bottom forums on the front page of the Pizza Parlor – the Marquee says what we’re supposed to be about there, and the Freezer is a storage place for valuable, extremely informative threads we don’t want to sink to the bottom of individual forum lists. Any Admin. and IIRC any Mod. can get in them to edit, delete, etc. if needed, but they’re read-only to the regular members.
WOW! There are invisible threads. I take it that is so the Moderators can talk to each other since they don’t live in the same house.
I always picture you living together in the same house. LOL :smack:
You spilled the beans on Fox’s next reality blockbuster show, Purple.
No.
There used to be some closed forums alright. They don’t seem to be there any more though.
(Link rather sweetly shows bibliophage requesting to become a moderator of one of those hidden forums. Got bigger fisk to fry these days, eh Bib?)
pan
kabbes is correct. Under the old software (UBB), when faced with a round of speed problems/storage issues/etc, a decision was made to archive some of the older threads into separate forums. The idea being that the threads would remain around for reading, but not posting. However, when the board converted to vB, it was determined that the speed increases that provided precluded the need for the archives, and IIRC the threads were returned to their respective fora.
Or something like that.
Actually, anything that had been placed in an “archive” forum was lost in the conversion.
And, as you might expect, UncleBeer hogs the covers.
Actually, Uke, I always pictured you snuggling up to TVeblen, being co-proprietors of Café Society and all. 
Is there a backup of the UBB boards still extant that those threads could be rescued from in some form or another?
I’ve always pictured me snuggling up to TVeblen, too.
But she’s over in IMHO with Czarcasm, so all I’ve got is Eutychus’s bony butt, which is cold comfort on these bitter winter nights.
The sad truth is that all 14 of us share one enormous bed during the scant hours Cecil lets us rest from our backbreaking labor. We take turns being the one on the end, who must get up several times a night to shovel coals from the scuttle into the Franklin stove.
And I’ll wait for Mister Blanket Hog to come and settle your serious question.