Xresources not doing anything in 13.10

.Xresources doesn't work for me either anymore. My workaround is to use /etc/X11/app-defaults/XTerm-color and /etc/X11/app-defaults/XTerm.

From what you're saying (specifically your reference to the menu entry Edit-->Profile Preferences-->Colors) I infer that you are using gnome-terminal.

That is the reason it doesn't work: gnome-terminal does not use the ~/.Xresources or ~/.Xdefaults files. It has its own configuration, stored elsewhere (specifically, ~/.gconf/apps/gnome-terminal/).

Also see here: https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?pid=1003284

Back in the old days, when everything was streamlined and standardized on GNU/Linux, basically any terminal program would use those files. But nowadays, every developer is doing their own thing, especially when you look to Gnome, KDE and consorts.

If you would like to understand and play around with the ~/.Xresources and ~/.Xdefaults files, use an old-school X terminal such as xterm, rxvt or urxvt.