[tlug] Recommendations for IM client

["David J Iannucci" <jlinux@example.com>]

Because of recent changes/upgrades in both hardware and OS (I'm now All
Gentoo All The Time :-), I've found it necessary to abandon good ol'
Gaim as my IM client, and try Pidgin.  Long story short, my experience
of it is that it is crap.  How can they have taken a good IM client like
gaim 1.5 and made it so much worse while increasing the version number?

Okaaaaay, I guess pidgin *works* for what it's intended for, but I
really enjoy seeing buddy icons (avatars), and pidgin has done nothing
but frustrate me on this front :-(  After reducing file sizes,
converting between formats, etc, I *still* don't see my wife's avatar,
and she doesn't see mine.  Pidgin gives no hints about why it is failing
to show them (or why it outright refuses to load certain images for use
as avatars), it just doesn't.

Well, enough complaining.... I've just about had enough, and what I'd
like is for someone to recommend a *good* multi-protocol IM client.
>From what I can tell, pidgin seems to be the "best" thing available as
OSS.  Do I have to use a Windows client running under wine?

Dave