Should we be concerned?

I noticed this as well. Thought there was significance behind it but wasn't sure what it foretold.

Looks like the whole Home Page has been redesigned. Priorities had to be set and apparently we didn't make the cut for a clickable picture. We are not an integral part of Rich Steves ETBD, just sort of a sideline - a place to feed a travel addiction. Ah, such is life. At least we're still here.

Perhaps we've become a disappointment.🤔

On average are there even 20 regular posters posting currently (plus one offs and once in a while folks)? And then you add in Covid and related traveling comments...and little wars there on and you present an image that may not be the best. When Covid is over and regular travel resumes I’d expect to see the Click Box to return.

I just keep the All Topics page open as a tab on all my devices. It is by accident I get to the homepage. I did notice a design change along the way, but does it really matter where we are relegated? There is a lot more of import at the present, and as adults, one would hope you had more self confidence and securities to even consider it more that a few seconds. It is the content, regulars and smart help that keeps me coming back, not how Rick or his team considers our 'value' to his cause. It's not like he is lacking supporters(both financial and social) here.

I suspect that the absence of "Question of the Month" from the newsletter has to do with the reduced traffic on the forum and the relative shortage of questions interesting enough (to a wide audience) to make the cut. Since so few people are actually travelling, there's a lot less to talk about. Hopefully after the plague passes we'll resume our travels and planning, providing more interesting and useful topics than now.

But yes, Mona, we do have too much free time and not enough travel right now, at least we retirees. I still check the forum every day because, well, I can't read and do puzzles and watch movies all the time. ;-)

I hope this move is temporary, and we'll see the forum returned to the home page once travel resumes. On the one hand, there is no doubt that traffic here has decreased considerably since travel restrictions began. It is mostly the regular posters who post each day. OTOH, burying the forums inside the menu may make it less obvious to new visitors looking for advice.

But I've seen similar "shrinkage" on most of the other travel related sites I visit regularly. I think that this too shall pass eventually.

Maybe the fact that this was even worthy of posting explains why the travel forum isn’t on the home page?

I mean, this has nothing to do with travel.

As others have said, I think it's a result of the current state of travel, and doesn't concern me in the least.

There can’t possibly be a problem. After all those of us back in April or so that were concerned this may come up we’re told in no uncertain terms that something like what the op is worried about would never happen....

The Monday night events took the forums place.

No, we should not be concerned.