We routinely disable the bulletin board for multiple reasons and reserve this tool for instructor messages only. I have instructors that get confused about whether the bulletin board is actually disabled since the button turns from "Disable student bulletin board posts" to "Enable bulletin board posts."
I am wondering if Populi's interface could include a notification above the bulletin board that confirms that the post is currently disabled. Maybe a small ribbon above the board that says "currently disabled" would do the trick.
Ginger