A couple small suggestions to combine with the "show new posts since last visit" page:

It would be useful to have a "visited link" color that  distinguished the threads you'd clicked on from those you hadn't clicked on so you know what you had already looked at.  Also, at the bottom of a thread (after you've already read everything), a nice little "back" button to the lower right might get you back to your navagation new posts page more quickly.

My database is somewhat large at this point, maybe 300mb.  I chopped off 100mb by deleting the top 300 most common words from the search tables (the version I was using I never caught the error until recently).  I haven't installed a test version of this board but am interested in finding out how you've structured the search table.  I hope it still works well as it gets larger. 

By the way, the hacks I love for phpbb that I'm thinking may use too many resources are navagation hacks at the bottom of the page that go to the next unread message, somewhat like your new posts since last visit page but on the thread itself.

By the way, I didn't realize there were indicators that a post was unread.  I guess I had to be gone for a while before they showed up.

Is there a navagation button on this page to go to the next newest or next oldest thread?

200 words?  Are these turned into a hash to cross check against words before saving to a search database?  What happens if you use 300 words?

I'm having problems with my phpbb and checking out alternative boards (I'm using 300 words right now).

By the way, I like the fact that y ou don't fool with a post title.  I stripped that from my board.  I also stripped out the member list, all smilies, and even the sigs, as they were being misused.

I notice it is very zippy.  I have a strip down phpBB.

What I feel is essential is some way to know which are new posts and which new posts you have viewed (some sort of session management).  My phpbb navagation links at the bottom of a thread go to the next unread post and one is able to link directly to a post.

Not sure if there are private forums and how deleting posts or threads would be handled -- thread management  (guess I have to download a test board).

Am I right in my initial impression that there is no way to know which posts are new without remembering when you left and reading the last post time?  And if there are posts made while you are on the board, you may not realize it?