The notification bell hears new notifications as they happen (notificationsRealtime; Shared 1.22.0, roadmap WS-E task 3): Network's network.notification.created over OpenVibe.Events' realtime stream, with polling as the fallback. Only a signed-in bell with a Network token opens a stream.

ddiff --git a/server/web/layout.js b/server/web/layout.js
iindex 394bebc..bfb32b5 100644
---- a/server/web/layout.js
++++ b/server/web/layout.js
@@@ -56,6 +56,7 @@ function createLayout({ config, release }) {
              sessionUrl: '/auth/me',
              loginUrl: `/auth/login?next=${encodeURIComponent(o.canonicalPath || '/')}`,
              logoutUrl: '/auth/logout?next={path}',   // Sign out in the shared navbar ends this site's session too
++            notificationsRealtime: true,   // the bell hears new notifications over OpenVibe.Events (Shared 1.22.0)
          };
          const footer = { service: 'tips', variant: 'full', mount: '#ov-footer', brandName: SITE_NAME, updates: '/updates' };
          const jsonLd = (o.jsonLd || []).map((x) => `<script type="application/ld+json">${JSON.stringify(x).replace(/</g, '\\u003c')}</script>`).join('\n');