If the link is blue, you have never looked at the thread
If the link is black, you have looked at the thread at some time (i.e. the page is in your cache area)
If you see dots, it means there are new postings since your last visit regardless of whether you have looked at the thread before or not.
OK
PS If anyone has a monochrome monitor, I guess its all perfectly clear
[Edited on 18-5-2004 by Eamonn]