And there's no indication whatsoever on the home page if you have private messages or not.
I'd suggest a simple solution.
Where under your avatar and all login detail you have
You last visited on Sat Jun 21, 2008 4:42 pm
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The time now is Sat Jun 21, 2008 5:41 pm
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why not make it
You last visited on Sat Jun 21, 2008 4:42 pm
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View posts since last visit (16)
The time now is Sat Jun 21, 2008 5:41 pm
All times are GMT - 1 Hours
simple, effective, and no more missed PMs