The forums have been updated to handle new unread posts thusly:

• Clicking on the envelope icon in the leftmost column will take you to either the first unread post (in the case of new unread posts in a thread) or the first post of the thread (in the case of no new unread posts)
• You can discern if there are new unread posts in any thread by either an opened envelope that is "ready for reading" or a bold thread title
• Thread titles will now only link to the first post in a thread

In short, the envelope has now become a more descriptive and larger TINY BLUE SQUARE.

These changes are now finalized. Sorry for the interim confusion.