Piratecat said:
We may end up tweaking the colors a bit, but give yourself some time to get used to them. Any change seems strange at first.
Michael, is it worth noting here which colors signify which conditions? That might help ease the transition.
Yes, the colors are significant.
Grey - No new posts since your last visit
Blue - New posts since your last visit
Purple - Hot thread with no new posts since your last visit
Red - Hot thread with new posts since the last visit
(Hot threads are those with at least 10 different posters)
A red X on any simply means the thread has been closed.
A white square on the lower left side means you have posted to that thread.
The icon key to each thread is found on the bottom of any thread displaying page.
As for the forum icons, blue globes are forums with new posts and grey globes have had no new posts.
This system was coined due to complaints that the old system didn't clearly designate which threads where which. For instance, with the old icons it was very hard to tell a hot thread from a normal one since everything was grey.
The globes are a reflection of the ENWorld logo after all, and give the site a little personal touch as I mentioned above.
Give it a chance. After awhile the globes will cease to be noticable and their color will become the important part of them.