I see there is a subscription function. But when I tried it by putting names of folders cut and pasted in there it didn't work. Is there a way to make this work? And would it be possible to have a check box at the bottom of a thread's screen to turn on to subscribe?

I have used several systems (Caucus is one) that allow one to automatically step through all new posts in all conferences with the ability to use a check box to forget things. That works rather well.