Is there any way to know if people have responded to something you have posted without having to go back to the forum itself to see if anyone has posted anything below your own post(s)?

Maybe something like a "View your posts" function coupled with an indicator as to whether there are new posts in that thread would be great!

When you start a new topic, there is a checkbox below the message textarea that you can mark. It is labeled "Notify by email when replies are posted". Check the box and you will get an email when someone replies to your post.