There are only three features I ever use at PCF.

"New Posts" - this shows you all recent threads, most recently updated first, that you are not caught up on

"Watched Threads" - every thread lets you "watch" it (or unwatch it if you are tired of watching it, like a thread I was watching about this forum but devolved into a discussion of corned beef and chipped beef), at which point you get a notification if anybody posts something new to the thread. You just click the "watch" button at the top of the thread. For instance, I watch the Whiskey thread, the Mail Showcase thread, there are a couple of threads about sets I'm putting together (like "Rat Rod") that I watch, and a few others.

"Private Messages" - which are just what you think. Any member can send any other member a private message. I get most of my chip buying and selling done that way.

I ignore everything else and the user experience is still fantastic.