Thank you for the response. I am glad I am not blind! I just have never used a forum where there was not a "mark as read" button so was sure I was just missing it.
As you said I have found that the system doesn't work properly a large portion of the time and frequently forums and messages show as "new" when infact they aren't.
Would it be possible for a moderator to see if it is possible to turn on a "mark as read" function? Thank you for your consideration!