I did not remember having read this post ; I reread it and found that there was nothing to add to our comments from that time.
It’s likely that DxO, having lost money, took measures to limit expenses, particularly the forum. They cut back to the bone!
That doesn’t stop me from regretting that there isn’t a more informal and direct line of communication between DxO and users, which I’ve seen on another forum, that of the company 4D.