For me, maybe add the notification badge only when there are replies, and split notifications page into a big column with replies and a small column with recent votes. I realize though I'm being pretty picky and unconstructive, I think it's a result of high/infrequent engagement on HN with no notifications, low/frequent engagement on twitter with lots of notifications. Both are fine, but SN is giving me high/infrequent with chatty notifications. IOW if I post here, I'll be refreshing the page to check it, while twitter is far more passive.