gaim========================Rob Flynn <rob@marko.net> IM: RobFlynn (currnet maintainer)Eric Warmenhoven <warmenhoven@yahoo.com> IM: EWarmenhoven (lead devel)Syd Logan - Super Hacker and Resident Designated DriverJim Duchek <jimduchek@ou.edu> IM: Zilding (former maintainer)Mark Spencer <markster@marko.net>Gaim is an IM client that supports many protocols, including AIM, ICQ,MSN, IRC, and Jabber. Gaim is NOT endorsed by, nor affiliated with,AOL nor any other company in ANY way.BUILD=====Read the 'INSTALL' file for more detailed directions.Gaim uses the standard ./configure ; make. You need to use gmake, BSDmake probably won't work. Remember, run ./configure --help to see whatbuild options are available.In order to compile Gaim, you need to have GTK+ 1.2.5 installed (aswell as the development files!). The configure script will fail if youdon't. You can get it from http://www.gtk.org/.Gaim will try to compile with Gnome features if you have Gnome on yoursystem. If you don't have them, it will settle for simply GTK. If youdon't want Gnome bits, ./configure --disable-gnomeIf you want to build as a GNOME applet:./configure --enable-panel ; makethen su to root and run "make install".Afterwards panel->Add applet->Network->Gaim should be there.RUN===You should run 'make install' as root to make sure plugins and other filesget installed into locations they want to be in. Once you've done that,you only need to run 'gaim'.To use the other services (such as Yahoo and IRC) which are availableas plugins:They are installed in $libdir/gaim, which usually is either /usr/lib/gaimor /usr/local/lib/gaim, and should have a somewhat descriptive name (e.g.libyahoo.so or irc.so). Load those plugins using the normal plugin dialog.Then in the account editor, add a new account; the Protocol option menushould now have another option for the protocol that you loaded. Thenyou can sign that account on.Read below for protocol-specific information.PLUGINS=======If you do not wish to enable the plugin support within Gaim, run the./configure script with the --disable-plugins option and recompile yoursource code. This will prevent the ability to load plugins.'make install' puts the plugins in $PREFIX/lib/gaim (PREFIX being whatyou specified when you ./configure'd - it defaults to /usr/local). Gaimlooks for the plugins in that directory by default, but they do not haveto be there to use them. Also, plugins have a .so extension by default,though they do not have to.To build a plugin from a .c file, put it in the plugins/ directory inthe source and run 'make filename.so', e.g. if you have the .c file'kickass.c', put it in the plugins/ directory, and from that directory,run 'make kickass.so'.NOTES=====If you manually set a command for your browser or sound player options,make sure to put double-quotes around the "%s", otherwise bad things mayhappen.If you come across a bug, please report it to http://gaim.sf.net/bug.php3.There always seems to be some iffy-ness by a lot of people aboutwhether to use the CVS version or stick with a stable release. Use theCVS version. If you need a version that you know is reliable, then keepyour favorite one in case of an emergency. But for the most part, gaimis not mission-critical software, and if you can help us find a few bugsbefore we release, all the better. (Also, CVS tends to be more stablethan releases, since we get 10 or 12 bug reports right after we make arelease, and all those bugs are fixed within a day or two usually.) Readhttp://gaim.sf.net/cvs.php for more information.PROTOCOL INFORMATION====================Each protocol is hacked by both Rob and Eric, though there is one personthat kind of "owns" a protocol (mostly indicating that they were theperson that originally wrote it). Their name will be next to the protocol;they're the people to complain to when something doesn't work ;).TOC (Rob)===You shouldn't use TOC, you should use Oscar instead. TOC can sync yourbuddy list with the server (if it's not too long), and can respond to filetransfer requests (both sending and receiving). Other than that, there'snothing it can do that Oscar can't, yet. The TOC protocol doesn't allowretrieval of away messages; isn't capable of sending or receiving buddyicons; it also can't make file transfer requests.Oscar (Eric)=====Oscar is the default protocol. It is recommended that you use Oscar forboth AIM and ICQ, as TOC isn't very featureful and the old ICQ protocol nolonger works.For AIM, Oscar can get people's away messages. It can request and acceptDirect IM connections, but it cannot yet transfer files through this (orthrough any other means). It can send and receive buddy icons if you haveGdkPixbuf.For ICQ, it supports nearly everything that the old ICQ plugin supported,which isn't much. To use Oscar for ICQ, enter your ICQ UIN as thescreenname. The default host/port will work.Yahoo (Eric)=====Yahoo is currently using the new YMSG protocol that newer official Yahooclients are using. This protocol is much better than the old one, andtends to be somewhat more reliable. However, the Yahoo service is stillflaky at best. Group chats aren't supported yet.IRC (Eric)===There are three ways to join an IRC chat room. The first is the File->JoinA Chat menu option in the Buddy List window. The second is the "Chat"button at the bottom of the buddy list. The third is to type "/join #name"in an IM window where the "Send Message As" menu is set to your IRCaccount. There are other / commands that work in IM and Chat windows forIRC, /help will give you a list of them.MSN (Eric)===With MSN you can join a conversation with several people, but you can'tinvite people from the IM window yet.ICQ (Eric)===The ICQ plugin is deprecated and will probably be removed soon. Theprotocol only marginally works. You should use Oscar for ICQ.Jabber (Eric)======Transports aren't currently supported at all, though if you have atransport already subscribed Gaim will use it (you can't add or removetransports though). In order to use a server other than jabber.org, setyour username to include the server, e.g. warmenhoven@mycompany.com. Thisis the actual format of the Jabber ID anyway; Jabber is email with onlinenotification.Napster (Rob)=======Heh. Ok, so I (Rob) am on crack! Gaim can sign on/off of Napster,add/remove people to your hotlist (buddylist) as well as chat privatelyand in chat rooms. You can search for files and browse a list of otheruser's files. You can currently download files as long as the personyou're retrieving files from is not firewalled.Zephyr (Eric)======Let me start off by saying how much I really despise Zephyr. They do alot of things that make me realize why this never caught on. For thoseof you who are unfortunate enough to feel compelling need to use this,gaim now has a Zephyr plugin. It can currently sign on/off, handlespresence/buddy lists (it even imports your .anyone file!), and cansend/receive personal messages. A lot of stuff is missing, this is justa real rough first stab at it.Gadu-Gadu (Eric)=========I really shouldn't be taking credit for Gadu-Gadu, I'm just the person whocommits the patches that Arkadiusz Miskiewicz gives me. Gadu-Gadu is an IMsystem most similar to ICQ that is quite popular in Poland. It can manageyour server-side buddy list through the Protocol Actions menu.