I find the design and location of the unread indicator in new discussions to be problematic. I often have a hard time telling which posts have and have not been read because the indicator is on top of the poster's image where it blends in. I preferred the stand alone indicator in classic discussions that was much easier to locate with a quick visual scan.
I suggest returning to an indicator that does not overlap any other image on the page, and that is located sufficiently far enough away from any other element that it stands out visually. This would make identifying unread posts easier.
