Hmm - I like the mute button, but I wonder if people are used to having them reflect current state (more typical for on-line or computer desktop audio controlsy) rather than "button action." The red "x" seemed to me more suggestive of "delete this" and therefore for "positive action to negate."

As for the emails: Dunno - you're signed up to receive all replies at a certain gmail account (I'm refraining from giving it out here). Could be you need to change the account, or your spam filter settings...

Also, if you don't see any changes immediately, and my "cache-busting" attempt doesn't work, then you may need to clear your browser cache.

Thanks again for the input, VB. I've adjusted the highlight button images, and have added a third state to make the "un-highlight" versions (and also the un-ignore button) more immediately obvious.

I think that the "Go to Highlighted Comments" (or show Highlighted only, etc.) won't be a sixth button, but possibly either one or both of the two Comments Since Last Visit initiator types: buttons at top and bottom of thread with go-to and/or show-only options; or clicker that appears next to highlighted comments.

Eventually, I'll want everything - including State of the Discussion, Extraordinary Comments, Nested Comments Unbound, Comments Since Last Visit, as well as Commenter Archives and more fab novelties in development - to fit modularly into a "Commentariat Suite," including differentiated options for visitors vs registered users vs users-at-different-role-levels, but I think this might be an adequate start or close to it for the "free" versions of Commenter Ignore and Commenter Highlight.

Can't emphasize enough how helpful it has to have at least one thoughtful feedbacker as part of the pre-development process. (Some of the others seem confused about why I tweeted them!) So, more thanks...

Hey VB - thanks for that.

I agree with your suggestion on alternative designs for the two kinds of highlight buttons - even a yellow box with a blue outline for comment-highlight, white box with blue outline and yellow shading, in other words imitating the current highlightification effects, might work. I also like the button you recommend - but I think I'd want it for a true "follow-this-commenter" function, somewhat as intended by the designer.

Part of my thinking also, and a reason I went with place-holders for now, is that eventually I'll have it in customizable form, inviting those inclined (among site operators, not among commenters) to substitute their own highlighting and button styles. Still, the initial release should be "excellent-as-is," if possible, so I'll work on that.

Also occurred to me that I could add a sixth button, for "go to highlighted comments," similar to the one at OT for scrolling through comments-since-last-visit.

The delayed tool-tip sounds like it could be a browser artifact - anyway wasn't intended. It's just the normal "hover." Anyway, should be insignificant once a user gets hip to what the buttons do.

Don't agree with you on the re-arrangement suggestion, but I'll reflect on possibly more natural ones, and I appreciate your willingness to get down to the granular level. To me, the two archive functions belong together. I put comment-highlight at the top right, because it struck me as likely the one to be used most often, or the one I would use most often. The ignore/in-ignore button would, presumably, be used most infrequently, even if it's the function possibly most desperately desired at some blogs.

Anyway - thanks again for the detailed input.

So here's a test comment to play with if you're shy.