None of the reviews of US providers were accessible, whether you used VPN or not, so TER's main function as a review site  for US providers was was not available for 20 months.   For reviewers, all of your own reviews were available to view by going to "My Reviews", but no one else could access them directly.  There were only about 15 posters that remained at various levels of participation on this GD board, usually the most active board on TER.  During the run-up to the 2018 midterm election, the P & R board actually had more activity.  Many other discussion boards on TER went months without a single post.