A linux equivalent to MSN Messenger

[Yvonne Smith]

Dan Murphy writes:
 > 
 > I did look at Jabber, and I felt it  was a bit messier than I like.  I
 > either didn't have the skill or the patience to get it running.

Umm, you don't have to. Just make yourself an account on the
jabber.org server. Admittedly, since that's the machine they use as
their testbed, it can sometimes be a bit weird, but it usually works.