Shoutbox

On a related note: would it be possible to have a better way to see if someone's online?

I'm using a laptop, the contacts on the desktop are at the right side of the screen. But sometimes it is difficult for me to see whether the icon is green or gray.

I would suggest different icons, or a 1 or 2 px border indicating the status (similar to the border around display images in the latest WLM).