Hmm, Windows' sparkle icon overlay comes to mind...
On the other hand, new files are usually a big thing for some people. When OTwins 3 appeared, I was in quite the hype, so I guess a star was just the right icon for that occassion. But that's just me being weird, huh?
You should keep consistency between design. Meaning not selected options should use one style and colors should be the same (or similar) and in other graphics. If not the page will look as a potpourri.
That's why I added the dull / grayed out bell icon - it looks similar to the sort icons, but an orange beveled bell icon would look stupid, wouldn't it?
Oh, none of the icons was meant to be used as a "remove notify" button, more like a status indicator whether notifies are on or off. exp, if you need an additional "remove notify" icon, just holler.
well, basically it is just a status icon.
you can change the notification state like all other stuff on the wishlist via the dropdown menus.
the fact that you can also change the notification state directly by clicking on the icon is just an extra.
and i think the meaning of the icon is quite clear @ state.