Is anyone else having problems with this site? I have noticed recently that when I post a question to a specific region it does not get posted to that region, but to the general Europe area. I have also had long delays in getting into the site lately as well. Last year when I was more active on this site I had no problems, but now it seems that it has changed. Any opinions? Also, when I post a question I never know how to find it later, because it doesn't go to the proper region like it did before. Any input is appreciated. <BR>Thanks. Michele <BR>

It has seemed a bit slow or bogged down lately, takes long time for posts to surface, forever to post a reply or cannot do it, etc (these were common in the past and seemed to be a little better for a while but now are back). I don't understand where you are expecting posts to appear for a specific region, there is only one Europe forum, no separate forums by region (do you mean country?) so you cannot post to a region. YOu cannot even click on and view a region, go to the front pag and you find only US, Canada, Mexico, Asia and Europe etc forums, there are no regional Europe forums.

Christina: I did mean to say country. Previously when posting France questions I would choose that area and then when you clicked on the France option on the top it took you to all those questions pertaining to that country and it would be there. Not so anymore, now it is just in Europe. I also notice that there is no first response notification and I checked the appropriate box. I have also found another post pertaining to problems on this site just as I have mentioned so I know I am not alone. Thanks. <BR>

Michele, You can post to a specific country by selecting the country when you create a post. It still will be found in the General Europe, but it makes it easier to find when you look for it by choosing one or more countries from the pull down in your search. They tried to seperate out but the massive concenses by fodorites was to leave it the way it was. For example when I post info regarding my upcoming trip to Poland and Romania, I choose both countries from the pull down and can later search by one or both to find the thread. BTW, you select multiple countries by holding the Ctrl key and clicking on the countries. <BR>Regards <BR>Art <BR>

I have been having the same problem. I selected countries as Art said when I created a recent post, but it didn't work. My post only appeared on the Europe forum - not the specific countries. This is a nuisance, because it means if your post is does not generate immediate interest it is soon off the top 50. It's still the best forum I've seen by far though.

As Christina and Art have already stated, there are NO forums for specific countries. So what you post cannot be posted in (non-existent) forums. Selecting a country only aids when someone is searching for something. Actually, I like having a Europe-wide forum. I get to read things I probably would never read if I only went to the countries I like (at this point). I've learned a lot more about eastern Europe, for instance. I'd never click on Russia normally, but having a Europe-wide forum means I get to see postings from Russia frequently.

Art, <BR>Thanks for your info. It still is not working right for me, but this is a terrific site and I do get great input. BTW I would love to hear about your trip to Poland. My family is of Polish background, and I saw a video from the Poland Exhibit in Baltimore last year that I went to and enjoyed very much and it looked so green and lush. It was quite beautiful. I'd be curious of your report. I might consider that trip for a future time. <BR>Thanks. Michele

I'm also having problems. But, what can we do? It appears there is no one left at fodors to fix anything.

I also posted a question, "**FORUM not cooperating as in past** and last night sent an e-mail to Fodors at Random House. Their reply was: <BR> <BR>Dear Debbie, <BR> <BR>Your e-mail has been sent to our producers for investigation. Thanks very <BR>much for your enthusiastic participation in our Travel Talk forums. <BR> <BR>Staff <BR>Fodors.com <BR> <BR>I will give their reply in my post when it comes. Having same problems with additional no 1st response notification.

I'm just curious how everyone found out about the staff at Fodor's being let go?

xx, <BR>There were articles in the business sections of a number of newspapers announcing a staff reduction at Fodors as well as some restructuring by Bertelsmann, the parent company of Fodors and Random House. There was also a posting here by one of the remaining Fodors staff members.

Are all of you really serious about the alleged problems? I don't stay on for more than an hour at a time maybe twice a day and I have never had a problem. Now I probably will having said that. My posts (not many) always appear at once, and I access the country I want quite easily. Could there be an internal computer or server problem on your end? Just asking as I am NOT a computer expert by any stretch of the imagination. Hope everything works out for all of you having problems. Good luck!

Hi Debbie, I'm glad that you got a response from Fodors. I emailed them regarding the number of pins lost or missing from envelopes and have not gotten a reply. It's been 4 days. How long before you got a reply? <BR>Regards <BR>Art <BR>

Okay. Let me try this in plain language. <BR> <BR>THERE ARE NO INDIVIDUAL COUNTRY FORUMS. <BR>The lack of the same is NOT a problem. It's the way this forum works. You don't liek that? Try someplace else. <BR> <BR>LET ME REPEAT. THERE ARE NO INDIVIDUAL COUNTRY FORUMS. <BR> <BR>When you post a message [as in start a thread] you set the country or countries that are relevant. This helps when people do a SEARCH for that country. <BR> <BR>The only way you can mimic a "country forum" is to do a search for that country and read the posts that come up as a result of that search. <BR> <BR>Do we understand now???

The site leads people to believe that there are country forums. The top of my screen on the left side lists them. But s. fowler is right. They don't really exist. I find that if I just type in key words in the search box they will come up. eg. type in Rome and any post mentioning Rome will come up even if it is not in the post heading. Lately this has been verrry slow and iffy. Its not my computer as other sites work fine. Since no one seems to be around to fix these things, I fear that it will only get worse. <BR> <BR>Good Luck, <BR> <BR>Gerry

Does it Gerry? I'm amazed. Mine just says Europe. <BR> <BR>They are listed in the box for the search function but that's all. <BR> <BR>I'm not trolling (honest) How can some of us be looking at a screen that says one thing and others that says omething else?

Sorry Sheila, meant upper right side(pull down menu). When they list all of those seperate countries to search doesn't that make you think that there are individual country listings? This seems to confuse a lot of people. This right side country search function did seem to work when they added it on the new revised forum a few months ago. But when they pulled the "new" forum they seemed to have left behind the country search function pull down on the right which now seems next to useless. <BR> <BR>Sorry for the left-right error. <BR> <BR>Gerry

To put it another way. Supose you posted a thread on London that never mentioned that London was in the United Kingdom. From the menu shown on the screen, wouldn't it be logical to assume that if you clicked on the United Kingdom on the pull down menu that the London post would come up? But, we know that wouldn't happen because "United Kingdom" was not mentioned in the post. I believe that this was supposed to happen when they added this menu to the "new" forum. The post would have somehow been taged as s. fowler suggested. When they went back to the old forum, they left this menu behind. But, now it seems to serve no purpose. It just causes confusion. But, now, alas, who's left to do anything about these things? <BR> <BR>Gerry <BR> <BR>

A "subject search" - - which might as well be called a "country search" yields what some people seem to think of as a "country forum". <BR> <BR>It leads to something like this at the top of the left hand column: <BR> <BR>================================== <BR> <BR>We have 50 matches for your search -- scroll down for titles. Or do a simpler search on any one of your criteria: <BR>Forum - Europe <BR>Topic(s) - Austria <BR> <BR>============================== <BR> <BR>You get it by clicking on a country (or more than one) in the box listing the countries - - as opposed to typing in the name of a country (or city or whatever). It seems to be faster (though at this hour of the morning, I assume its because "traffic" is light), and "purer" because it only retrieves the country a person selected when initiating the message. If the thread was something like &lt;&lt;security for my luggage on "AN" overnight train&gt;&gt; - - and no country was initially selected, the mention of an experience on the Barcelona-Paris train will NOT pop up under France nor Spain. <BR> <BR>From time to time, it has been mentioned that there are some very valuable "subjects" that would make as much sense (or get as much use or more) instead of JUST countries, for example: <BR> <BR>Air travel TO Europe <BR>Air travel WITHIN Europe <BR>Train tickets and passses <BR>Budget travel <BR>First time to Europe <BR>Tours <BR>Currency and money matters <BR>Wine <BR>Restaurants <BR>Hotels <BR>Convents <BR> <BR>but a proper "indexing" system has never been on the horizon, as far as I know. <BR> <BR>Best wishes, <BR> <BR>Rex <BR>

You have selected the Europe forum initially. For a specific country within Europe, they call it a "subject", you use the pull down choices upper right. <BR>I think interpreting the word "forum" is the culprit.