I shouldn't have to watch threads that I created.
Correct, as long as the correct notification options are checked in your profile.
With that being said, do I manually push that button everytime?
If you want to follow a thread that you did NOT create OR respond to, then yes. If you respond to a thread that you did not create then you should automatically be subscribed (again, if all of the correct options have been selected in the User Profile).
Now, this is important...that button is a toggle. If you press it too may time you may unintentionally UNSUBSCRIBE yourself.
For instance, on this board it says either 'Watch' or 'Unwatch'. I've noticed that sometimes after I create a thread, the button will still say 'Watch', but that is only because the screen hasn't refreshed. Once refreshed it will reflect correctly. Confused yet?
Not sure if this applies to your situation, but I rely on email notifications to alert me to new responses on all of the forums that I follow.
Two things to be aware of: (1) Check your spam folder - it's very easy for the email filters to interpret the notifications as spam (happens all the time to me); (2) sometimes an ISP will 'blacklist' a forum (thinking that repeated notifications are spam). It's happened to me several time in the past (although not lately). I have several long-established e-mail addresses, so what I've done to confirm when I suspect this of happening is change my email address in the User Profile.
On the plus side, these roadblocks are almost always temporary; in many cases it's just a matter of the spam filters 'learning' which messages are legit. If/when you find a legit message marked as spam, make sure you mark it as legit in the email app.
Good luck!
