this would not surprise me... start getting too much negative comments (bad press), then just shut down the forum to allow things to cool off. Then bring it back up later, citing technical problems, and even (conveniently) losing a number of posts back to a certain time.... effectively erasing much of the negative material.
And why not? its their forum. Its purpose is to be a tool to support and encourage their products... not as a tool for naysayers to tear down their market. I just wish they were up front about it, rather than using the sneaky b@sterd methods. It is all too apparent to me.