maybe like them, maybe something more universally annoying...

hmm... perhaps if you want people to migrate you should set up something only visible to the user in question?

a big flashy thing saying "CHANGE YER AVATAR, YE NARWHAL!" maybe?

note: No insults to narwhals intended.

EDIT: nice to see that notifications clear if the post you were referenced in is read. Earlier you had to check the notifications even when the post was viewed. This is one step closer to the unread posts system, right?