I don't remember when this was fixed, but Empathy has long switched back to using color status icons, and the messaging menu now uses color status icons too.
** Changed in: ubuntu-mono (Ubuntu) Status: Triaged => Fix Released -- You received this bug notification because you are a member of Desktop Packages, which is subscribed to empathy in Ubuntu. https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/600215 Title: Unable to tell who's online based on mono icons Status in “empathy” package in Ubuntu: Invalid Status in “ubuntu-mono” package in Ubuntu: Fix Released Bug description: Binary package hint: empathy I'm using Maverick. The new mono status icons for Empathy do not allow me (with mild colour blindness) to distinguish between online/away/offline etc. friends. I suggest either switching back to the old icons or drawing the respective symbols in a dark colour on the icon instead of white. If any more information is needed, I will happily provide it. To manage notifications about this bug go to: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/empathy/+bug/600215/+subscriptions -- Mailing list: https://launchpad.net/~desktop-packages Post to : desktop-packages@lists.launchpad.net Unsubscribe : https://launchpad.net/~desktop-packages More help : https://help.launchpad.net/ListHelp