I just committed the revised badging code. SVN users, update to at least revision 14849 14850 to see what it looks like.

I want you to use this for at least a couple of days, up to a week. Compare it to how you liked the previous EMD icon (status-icon-only). After you’ve given it time and reached a decision, drop us a line — you can find out how at the ContactUs page on the wiki.

UPDATE 4:22 PM: There was a bug (unrelated) in 14849 that kept Adium from launching. Update to 14850.

Those of you who run our current SVN source may have noticed that the EMD (the status menu item which displays in the top menu bar: the Evil Menu Duck) has been in a bit of flux recently. Evan changed it to use a status icon only. I think this looks a bit plain, so I changed it to have a badge. Evan thinks this looks ugly, so he reverted it to the status-icon-only.

So Evan and I worked out a plan — a request for those of you currently running SVN.

1. Over the next day or two, I want you to pay attention to the EMD in different states (available/away/idle/invisible/offline), and think about how you like it as a status icon only. I mainly want you to use it normally.
2. Then I’ll commit my current implementation (which brings back the badging, but now resized to no larger than the lower-right quadrant of the Duck). I’ll give that a week.
3. Then I want you to email feedback (at adiumx.com) with your opinion: which one do you prefer, and why? What do you like and dislike about the status-icon-only version, and what do you like and dislike about the badged version?

Thanks for your help.