[tbworld]

Are you referring to "Thread/Forum Read Marking Type", like when you use the tab on vbulletin.org called "New Posts". That of course is database or cookie driven depending on the setting in the Admin Control Panel (See Thread/Forum Read Marking Type) .

I thought you were refering to this line "The threads below have not been updated since your last visit but still contain unread posts".


Thread Marking Options

1. Inactivity/Cookie Based - once a user has been inactive for a certain amount of time (the value of the session timeout option) all threads and forums are considered read. Individual threads are marked as read within a session via cookies.
   
   This option is how all versions of vBulletin before 3.5 functioned.
2. Database (no automatic forum marking) - this option uses the database to store thread and forum read times. This allows accurate read markers to be kept indefinitely. However, in order for a forum to be marked read when all threads are read, the user must view the list of threads for that forum.
   
   This option is more space and processor intensive than inactivity-based marking.
3. Database (automatic forum marking) - this option is the same as a previous option, but forums are automatically marked as read when the last new thread is read.
   
   This is the most usable option for end users, but most processor intensive.