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I currently use both physics.SE and math.SE, and one difference I noticed was the new activity counters and notifications on PSE, which were absent in its math counterpart. Now, in my experience so far, these labels and notifications, albeit not intrusive, make it harder to concentrate while browsing the new/unanswered questions.

This made me wonder, what, if any, use do these little notifiers have? If not, should they stay or be removed? Any ideas or thoughts?

Edit: Added the relevant images.

Some clarification: These indicators are minuscule, one counter, read, "(#) Physics Stack Exchange" on title bar to indicate how many questions had new activity since the last refresh, and one bar in top of main page questions popping up whenever a new activity happens. The latter one is rather annoying since it moves the screen a bit down. The former, on the other hand, is a feature I rather not have.

Here is the title of phys.se vs. title of math.se, and here is the bar that appears whenever a new activity happens.

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  • $\begingroup$ What activity counters and notifications? Say, can you provide an annotated screenshot showing what you mean? It's likely that the feature is present on both sites and that you don't see it on math.se because of your slightly lower rep there, or other details of your activity. But it's hard (if not impossible) to tell with the given information. $\endgroup$ – Emilio Pisanty May 21 at 4:59
  • $\begingroup$ Well I knew this was going to come up. These indicators are minuscule, one counter, read, "(#) Physics Stack Exchange" on title bar to indicate how many questions had new activity since the last refresh, and one bar in top of main page questions popping up whenever a new activity happens. The latter one is rather annoying since it moves the screen a bit down. The former, on the other hand, is a feature I rather not have. --- I will add an image as you asked, but since there is no new activity these hours, I'll need to wait a bit. $\endgroup$ – acarturk May 21 at 5:19
  • $\begingroup$ @EmilioPisanty Added the relevant images. It's a nuance, really. $\endgroup$ – acarturk May 21 at 5:51
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    $\begingroup$ Those are standard features on SE sites. If math.se doesn't have them, it's because the traffic there is too high, and both would be overloaded. $\endgroup$ – Emilio Pisanty May 21 at 5:59

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