Continuing the discussion from Like notifications in private messages:
It seems to me that if someone 
my message, the notification should be a message notification, not a topic notification. So it should be green, not blue.
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I feel that likes are likes no matter where you get them. When I get a green notification, I know someone is talking to me and I might need to reply; they’re more pressing.
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Yes … that …
“Green == Look here now … someone sent me an urgent PM I should handle”
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How about a 3rd red circle 
for like notification count? Then you get RGB. 
(I’m not entirely joking, BTW…)
So all likes would be red? I like that, so I can differentiate replies from likes.
A red circle is already used for Moderation Notifications i.e.
posts awaiting approval and pending Flagged posts.
Even with a fourth color, squeezing in 4 circles might be a trick.
Edit
a mock-up of where things could go
personally, I think it’s “noisy” and I could end up feeling a bit harassed and harried getting too many too often
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Moderator notifications come in via the hamburger menu, completely separate from the profile notifications.
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We already need to explain 2 circles there, adding one more would make people extra confused and raise the number of questions.
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I’m not particularly pushing for the design idea, but you might want to re-consider your math. 
The people who are confused by the notifications will be getting the same number of notifications, and once they’re explained, they don’t need to be explained again. “The numbers show the count of notifications: green for messages, pink for likes, and blue for posts.”
baige for “your topic was split”
puce for “your invite was accepted”
opaque violet for “you just got a badge”
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Slightly off topic, but I would like to suggest that all replies to a PM should be green as well. At the moment (assuming I am remembering correctly), if a user PMs me, I get a green notification. Then I reply. Then they reply. Now I have a blue notification. If I am correct, why is it this way? I feel that a reply to a PM is just as important as a new PM, especially if I replied…
Nope they are always green now… are you sure this is happening?
No 
, but I was pretty certain. Let me do some testing…I’ll get right back to you…
Now I am sure! Screenshots:
Maybe if you are only tracking the PM … not sure …
Yes, I am sure this is happening. If a user replies to your PM, but replies directly to one of your messages and does click the reply button at the bottom the notification will be blue.
Are you Tracking that PM or Watching it?
I don’t change any of my PMs from watching and this happens with them.
I am watching, as is default for PMs on both users. As @Carson1 suggested, I can confirm it depends on which reply button is used.
If I reply to the PM (using the blue reply button at the bottom of the topic) I get a green notif.
If I reply to one of the user’s posts (using the in-post reply button), I get a blue notif.
If I reply to one of my own posts (using the in-post reply button), I get a green notif.
Do all 3 scenario’s make sense @sam?
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No probs … I will get this cleaned up.
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Well, this is a fun discussion to wake up to. I created a monster. 
I see this differently… to me it’s important to know the notification is about a message vs topic. There’s alot of important activity on the site and I actually tend to prioritize the topic activity over the messages, or at least take care of them at different intervals.
Given the risk of noise and confusion, maybe the answer is to actually go down to one color (just blue) and in the notifications list prioritize messages that have not been read yet. They’d be put at the top and bolded or something.
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