[feature request] status line colors

It would be cool if we could include color formatting in the status line. In particular, I want to make the $(modified) status line piece a brighter color than the rest, so it stands out better. I tried doing this hackily by just inserting ansi terminal escape codes in statusformatl, but the escape character \u001b just appeared as a rectangle. (as a side note, @zyedidia's json5 library, which micro uses to read the settings, is missing \x** style escape codes in strings)

This should maybe be a different feature request, but it would also be cool if there were an option to move the status line to the top of the buffer pane. I'd find it a bit easier to see there.

I think this first feature might be within the scope of a plugin, but I'm not sure. Is there a way to put custom formatting in the status line from a plugin? If not, would anyone else be interested in seeing this feature added to micro? Or at least modifying micro so it's possible to do with a plugin? This second feature, moving the status line to the top, I think can't be a plugin. Is anyone else interested in seeing that feature added?

As another side note, it's a bit weird how $(modified) includes a space at the end. For example, I tried including $(modified)$(modified)$(modified) in my statusformatl so that I'd get a +++ instead of a + when my file was modified, but instead I got a + + +. It's also a bit inconsistent how $(modified) has brackets when the file is read only, i.e. [ro]. Maybe we should make it [+] or [++] when the file is modified for consistency, and also to make it easier to see. In any case, I think these changes are within the scope of a plugin (although I think they might make better defaults).

Anyways, that's a lot of related small issues. Thanks for the awesome work put into micro, I love it :). Let me know what you guys think of these ideas.

Start by tracing the statusformatl setting and the status-line rendering or plugin entry points, then separate the color-formatting, placement, and $(modified) behavior requests. Check whether the existing plugin API can expose these controls; done requires a decided scope and corresponding behavior for the selected request, with tests or documented verification.