Thanks for the reply. Actually I've figured out that the board I'm interested in was built/created with Phorum. I'm trying to get to the phorum.org web site now. My app will serv a niche community w/limited computer skills and a high whine factor. Hence I'm loving the idea of a PHP/MySQL mix where I can easily implement custom searches and build the archival into user prefs.
One more thing...is the 'new' feature you implemented based on user activity, or a post date scheme?