What does deactivating fb do?

[DeweyWatermelon]

What is it for? I know your information are still there if you want to go back into fb, but what does it actually do anyway? Is it that your friends just can't write on your wall? Does your friend know you've deactivated your profile? Will they still see your pic on their friend's list? Will they see your profile while deactivated? Can people still send you messages? What happens to your search, does your pic show up during a search while deactivated? I know so much questions, but answer generally how you can. Thanks!