Comment 8 for bug 435329

As long as the indicator applet is visible, I can see new messages listed in its pull-down menu and don't need the empathy icon in the tray. However, the indicator applet does not seem to look any different when there are unseen messages, and so I don't realise that I have to check its menu - unless I am slightly blind and just didn't see it, that should probably be improved on.