Gnome-Shell Chat-Notifications to top Panel?

[t.rei]

Hi

I'm using gnome-shell 3.4.1 and I absolutely love it - the only thing I miss is hud and ... being notified properly of chat messages. A lot of my work and private life too includes instant messages, and not all of them are ok to be unnoticed just because I've been looking at a book / getting a coffee / being really too fokussed to let them interrupt me...

Is there any known extension somewhere in any gnome-shell based distribution, maybe that moves the Chat-Notification-System - and just that - to the top panel?

You know - the little user-icons/pictures with a message count and the expanding names.

Thanks.

[markbl]

I really like gnome-shell also but like you I find the notifications a little frustrating, particularly for chat. I disable the native empathy app (i.e don't configure any online accounts for chat) and then I just use pidgin which works well. Make sure you enable the buddy notification and libnotify plugins in pidgin.

[t.rei]

I actually like the gnome-shell integration of the chat - not having to open a chat window just to reply to one of the x people keeps the desktop clean for work. If they would just be visible.

I know of the big discussion on how present notifications have to be or should be. I wonder why the obvious hasn't prevailed: It depends HIGHLY on what you are doing and how you are doing it:

a) I work on the computer, I have work-related windows open, I switch between windows a lot:
Not having seperate chat windows open is great! They keep my overview nice and focussed.
Not SEEING the chat notifications including their counters is BAD: I don't have the option of interrupting my work to reply on some other topic right away. But I SHOULD reply as soon as possible.

b) I watch movies or play on my computer: Any kind of notification is bad, if movie is fullscreen.

c) Use the computer to communicate: All kinds of notifications that HELP are nice to have.

---
There is no way to have this right for everyone.
It's one of those things that just require an option.

The best solution I could think of so far would be if the whole chat-notification-system could be switched to the top panel. center or right - there's plenty of room.