Does anyone here use Pidgin? I'm thinking about switching from Trillian, but I want to know:

If you are using it from multiple computers (desktop and laptop, for example), how well does that work? I've tried it with trillian, and it's epic failure. Screws up buddy lists, new contacts, all sorts of things. So that's really the one thing stopping me, how well does it work with Pidgin?

I used it between work and home before I switched to Kopete for home.

Still use Pidgin at work since it's a Windows box.

No problems for MSN/AIM/IRC protocols.

The only problem I run into is, when I paste something into a chat window using CTRL+V, there's a random chance that Pidgin will crash. So, any time I want to paste something into a window, I use right-click -> paste as plain text.

That used to happen to me back when it was called Gaim.

But now, I paste things all the time and never crashes.

(evidence by typing ää a lot, and the occasional Digg articles.)

I've been using Pidgin since before Gaim 1.5, and it's always been fine with that.

The newer releases (since Gaim 2.0) uses the newer builds of Gtk that draw native widgets using Cairo, so it's not ugly anymore!

Well, it's still ugly, just not "this doesn't look like windows" ugly.

The problem with moving Pidgin between PCs is you also need GTK installed on all said PCs.

I use it at work. It's reasonable. I use some old gaim at home. I never have any problems with buddy lists, although I only have like 3 "buddies." I use it for ICQ, Jabber, and AIM.

i use pidgin all the time. i prefer mIRC for IRC, but it works great for AIM. also i keep an old copy of gaim 1.5 on a flash drive that i run off it. its a little slow but it works on pretty much anything.

X-Chat 2 is where it's at for IRC. I would recommend downloading the version without GTK, and instead use Pidgin's GTK or a standalone installer.

I use Pidgin on my laptop, and I love it. (linux) On Windows I normally use MirandaIM though. It's a very minimalistic client. It's my favorite for IRC chats because it will keep a channel connected even when you close the window. It marks where you left off then. All protocols work excellently. It's pretty customizable too.

I read that Pidgin isn't skinnable, but you can have themes. I haven't found any themes, though. I really want to get rid of buddy icons, the thing in the chat window that tells you who you're chatting with (useless), find a way to condense the space between buddies on the list, and possibly change the color scheme to light text on dark background.

Is there any way to do any of this? I'm using it right now, and everything but the colors is getting on my nerves. I'm kind of a minimalist when it comes to chat programs.

Adium does minimal the best.

too bad its mac only.

I use Pidgin on my lappy sans problems. Same with Adium on my desktop.

I use it when I use Ubuntu.

I use it on Ubuntu, but it's still called "Gaim" there and there are no updates. I suppose I could go find the newest version but I like packages better...

I think the major problem with buddy lists like you've had is that all the different protocols Trillian and Gaim support were never meant to work together, and so have different buddy lists and features. Trillian and Gaim simply organize contacts differently and that causes them to get screwed up.

The next Trillian (Astra) saves your contact list on the Astra server, so it can't be screwed up by Gaim or other chat clients.

Pidgin supposedly comes out with Gutsy, MZZT.

Oh, and BRIAN!

You have AIM, and yet you forced me to use that lame Jabber?! FAILSAUCE, SIR.

Try using Miranda. It's probably one of the lightest clients, offers a lot of protocols and has a lot of plug-ins.

You can get a package from http://www.getdeb.net/

Though it's pretty moot since Gutsy comes out, like, tomorrow.

Alright, Emon helped me with the buddy icons, and I found the theme selector. I doubt there's a way to get rid of the giant name/buddy icon of who you're talking to in each chat window, so the only other complaint:

Is there a way to have subfolders in the buddy list? I can't figure it out.

I only have "work" people on my GAYM er gaim er... I mean AIM. Isn't that a toothpaste?