[JohnP]

I have inherited a busy site at http://fresh.co.nz with WordPress Version 4.5.3
It is running bbPress Version 2.5.9 – but not in use.

When I attempt to de-activate, delete or re-name bbPress, the site becomes blank.

I cannot find anything in the theme that relies on bbPress, but I have not had the opportunity to try changing the theme since the site is live.

T can’t see anything in wp-config, .htaccess or any custom index.php files

Any suggestions about where else the problem may be would be appreciated.

[Robin W]

The functions file of your theme might hold code that relies on bbpress – look for lines that include

add_action (‘bbp_something…
or
add_filter (‘bbp_something…

[JohnP]

I’ve already searched both the parent theme and the child theme for the string “bbp”, but can not find it there.

The previous developer did some rather unorthodox coding, so anything is possible.

They might have even edited core WordPress files.

Is there any other way of testing where a bbPress-dependent function might be running?

[Robin W]

I’d look in wp-config for

define( 'WP_DEBUG', false );

and change it to

define( 'WP_DEBUG', true );

This will switch debugging on, and you should get an error shown when you try and access the site.

Post this error back here, and we’ll try to help further.

[JohnP]

I’ve just tried that. Nothing shows up in the debug.log

On the front I see a HTTP 500 internal Server Error.

[Robin W]

ok, I’d either

change the theme to parent briefly and try it again – see if this fixes

or try replicating to a test site, where you can play with it

https://codex.bbpress.org/getting-started/testing-your-bbpress-installation/creating-a-test-site/