Comment 17 for bug 450398

This is insane... You are saying that instead of the computer alerting me of an event I have the keep pooling the notification area with my eyes to search for an event. This is an inverse logic, the computer should work for you.

I disagree with this statement: "So the only next step would be to use a blinking icon... which is against the gnome HIG."

Gnome HIG says: "Do not rely on blinking or animation as a means of alerting the user to any particular event. " - It is not explicit forbidding blinking icons. It also says "Icons should not usually appear animated. They may change to indicate a change of state, but should not do so when that change is occurs regularly rapidly." IM messages and e-mails are not "regularly rapidly".

I've been loosing a lot of important IM messages because I do not use sound, which are not very pleasant at working environments, and very often I am not looking at the screen and miss the notifications. There should be something stronger than a different icon to tell you there is a event you should be aware of. Maybe a slow blinking, a limited number of blinks, an small animation. Otherwise the indicator-appet will be useless to almost all regular users.