Recently, the text shown on /new and /unread was changed.
New
Old
While for most users, these links are hidden from the top navigation as long as they are empty, there is a separate check that ensures new users will always see them.
Since the Discourse interface is generally simplified for new users by hiding some features, I thought this was an intentional choice, giving them a chance to learn that these features exist and how they work. The old text explained very well when something is considered new or unread and how to change that.
In my opinion, the new version is rather confusing for new users. It’s not very impressive that there is nothing unread two minutes after joining. This makes sense when you have gone through your list of unread topics, and at the end, you see this.
Has the fact that new users always see this link been taken into account when you decided on the new texts? Where do they now find the information on when topics are considered new or unread and how the status is indicated in the interface?