Quicker way to change status message
At the moment, if you want to change status message without show, then you have to navigate the dropdown and bring up a new, slightly obtrusive window. When a user changes their show (to something other than offline/online/invisible) we pop up the same window, assuming they want to change their message.
My proposal is to separate the process of changing status message from changing actual status - making it easier to change one without changing the other, but without making it more difficult to change both.
At the same time, a way of the user knowing their current status message would be handy.
My first suggestion incorporates both of these: A simple ComboboxEntry beneath the regular status Combobox would mean we can select an existing status from the dropdown, or enter our own immediately. The entry would double as a place for holding the current status message. The immediate drawback I see is how the user differentiates between whether the CBEntry is telling him the current status, or what he is about to change it to, and how to tell him that his change has been successful. In addition, a whole CBEntry looks a bit obtrusive. The second option I've thought of is a small button beside the status combobox, which, when clicked, would pop up a microwindow, aesthetically similar to that which pops up when you "find as you type" inside the roster treeview, or inside a GTK filechooser. This would consist of an undecorated toplevel, with the same CBEntry as before. The problem remains of how to inform the user of their current status message. I think it might be nice to expand the current account strip in the roster, though, with a second line displaying our status message. That's another ticket, though....