I think you're missing the point - ie, it's a bit of a push/pull. Before, the 5 most recent threads were on the homepage & no one had to set anything up. It seems to be a feature that the majority of the FTers commenting on this thread valued.

So they would appreciate knowing if it's something that can be brought back (since some are now spending less time on FT, it should be considered) or if they're SOL/can only access it via the New Posts link (in which case you're going to have to do a sitewide announcement to let people know of the work-around) to a former standard feature.

Cheers. Sharon