I was thinking that since we can't edit posts that there should be a notify button maybe near add reply in case one would forget to do the check box.

Also I was thinking that notifications should have a pm instead of email mode since to me it seems more convenient.

I figure the former is easy to add but not 100% sure on the latter.

You can watch a thread by scrolling to the bottom and clicking on 'watch thread'. Though I do like the pm idea.

Hmm maybe it should be moved to a more visible space or something its rather hard to find if you aren't looking closely.

The PM idea has some merit, but our inboxes would fill up super-fast and well, what's wrong with the 'view your posts' link in the forum index?

Personal preference I suppose. As far as the pm being cluttered, giving the option to use email instead or not use it at all would solve this. Different options for different user preferences is nice sometimes.