[Anonymous User 5853594]

Nope… What you’re referring to is the User Groups component, which can link groups to a specific bbPress (2.x) forum.
Have you tried if it works with bbPress 2.5.3, with all other plugins disabled and using a default theme?

[Anonymous User 5853594]

@halo-diehard
The Group Forums component in BuddyPress has been retired and it is indeed advised to use bbPress (version 2.x).

[Anonymous User 5853594]

Basically yes.
The Sitewide Forums are available to everyone, while the Group Forums are a private forums for a specific group. Other than that, they just share all the normal forum functions.