BuddyPress.org

Showing icons all the time, visited or not…

This is actually correct. There will always be an icon displayed. It will be the “lit up orange” icon if there are new posts, and a “non-orange” icon if no new posts.

In certain browsers, such as Google Chrome, I noticed you need to reload the page to see the “lit up” icon switch off after you visit the thread. Firefox did not need this. Is there a way to force a refresh in php code?

The best way to test this plugin would be to go to another computer or open a different browser and log in as a different user. Post some nonsense posts, then return to the first computer/browser and reload the page. You should see the icons “switch on.”