I've logged in/out twice now. My avatar no longer appears at the top left and the links to the Updated and Unread topics are gone, too.
Is this due to a change or an error?
Since they are showing up on my screen, I would have to assume it was an error on your side.
Try removing all temp files and cookies.
Yes, I've done that as well as tried from two different computers (Windows and Mac). It persists.
I should also note that when I first logged in this morning, they were there. Then, after I'd marked all threads read, they disappeared. That had never happened before.
Here's a screen capture of what I see after I log in.
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1088.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fi329%2Fcam94080%2Ftemp%2FScreenShot2012-02-08at50844PM.png&hash=c7fd8747286ea778faaa6724374360e07a756e40)
And, this is after the third login and the second try on this particular computer (after clearing the browser history/cache/cookies and a reboot).
expand the title space
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2Fi0NaE.png&hash=1c5b8fdd5ec81766b3fec38ce5b22578941df2fb)
I never noticed that icon before. Thanks, Flan.