A few ideas and suggestions. ..
1- create a user variable timer selection for all notifications. I'm guessing that the standard now is 5 seconds. Allow the user to choose the time I 5 second increments. For us on cell phones the notifications tend to disappear quickly.
2- create a quick link icon at the top of the page for online messages. Allow the user to select between the current setup or a page just for the black boxes. Again, phone users tend to lose the boxes when loading another screen. It is tedious to track down the messages lost.
3- Stabilize the drop-down menus for cell phone use. A prime example is the drop down showing if the user is online or away. Sometimes it stays long enough to select something, most times it doesn't.
This is a great site and I don't want to sound like I'm complaining, these are just some thoughts