1) The notification plugin is only displayed when you receive a private message. You can change that using gconf: /apps/xchat/plugins/notification/level
2) That's a know bug. https://bugs.launchpad.net/distros/ubuntu/+source/xchat-gnome/+bug/43205 ** Changed in: xchat-gnome (Ubuntu) Status: Needs Info => Rejected -- notification area plugin is not working https://launchpad.net/bugs/73414 -- ubuntu-bugs mailing list ubuntu-bugs@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-bugs