Comment 17 for bug 206547

According to http://library.gnome.org/devel/hig-book/stable/desktop-notification-area.html.en
In reference to animation in the Notification Area, it says, "Do not rely on blinking or animation as a means of alerting the user to any particular event." I too believe that ONLY a small "blinking" icon in the Notification Area on the Gnome Panel is unexpected/wrong behavior. In fact, when trying to use the Google Talk video feature, I got a ringing sound but no obvious means to answer the call when a contact called me, even though the chat window and contact list were visible and my status was set to "available". The "accept call" dialog window appeared only after clicking the icon on the Notification Area.

This behavior is like trying to answer a phone call when your phone is hidden somewhere in your room. The default behavior should be to pop up a new message tab, window, or dialog box when a contact first messages you or requests your immediate attention with something like a call.