Ok... in response to zippy's complaints, I've been fiddling with the settings, and although I'm still not sure how to improve the search function, I've [I]hopefully[/I] made the New Posts function a bit more accurate. Unfortunately, in the mean time, there may be some issues. When I first changed it, I got a long list of unread posts from the last couple of weeks, and I had to hit [url]http://forums.theeca.com/forumdisplay.php?do=markread[/url] to fix it. This may happen to you. I'm not sure, since I can't easily test it, but clicking that link (or hitting the Mark Forums Read button at the bottom of the main page) will clear the list.
Right now I have it set so that it will remember unread posts for up to 20 days. This may change. Please tell me if there are problems, and in particular, I'd like to know if you guys actually [I]are[/I] getting long lists of posts when you first click New Posts today. Just post something in the Suggestions, Gripes, etc. forum or send me a PM and I'll try to get back to you as soon as possible.
If anyone has any other ideas to improve the forum, this is the time to tell me! Today I also decreased the minimum number of characters per post to 2 (thus allowing yes or no answers) and, to pacify KN, I enabled quick reply, no click required. I hope these changes will make the forum more usable for everyone :)