Thanks to the help of the Crescent City Cyclists we have fixed and narrowed down the roles of what user levels can participate in the forums.

Visibility: decide whether your forum is public, private or hidden.
Public – Anyone can see these forums
Private – Only logged in registered users can see these forums
Hidden: Only Moderators/Admins can see these forums

One thing to remember though is you cannot put private or hidden forums inside your custom menu.

It’s best to have a link to forums and always have a public one.

People will be able to read, but not post. We think its good to get new blood in though by showing you have active members.

Thanks again to the Crescent City Cyclists.