I agree with you both, that’s why I think there needs to be options for forums of different sizes.
-
On quieter/smaller forums (probably the majority of forums) I think something like what’s in my screen grab could be a great fit.
-
On medium sized forums, perhaps only track unread posts for your last 3 to 5 visits (so if you haven’t read those posts by then the system assumes you are not interested in them).
-
On larger busier forums (50+ new topics a day) maybe think about category view as default or something similar to dimming as we have here.
I do however think the focus should be on having the standard style, and then one to signify topics with unread posts (rather the the opposite that we have now) because I think it’s easier to make sense of and encourages a positive action rather than a negative one.