I've been working on a Perl/Tk IM client called Milkbone for the past few months. It's still very much in development, but it works fairly well (or at least, I think so).

You can get a Windows installer or cross-platform source from http://www.milkbone.org. I haven't done any testing on Linux boxes yet, but if the Windows plugins are disabled, it should work without a hitch.

If you have any spare time, take a look at the source. I'd appreciate any help. The biggest problem right now is its memory usage - on a Windows box, milkbone can use up to 20 megs of RAM. I'd be eternally grateful if anyone could fix this.

Just Another Wisdom Seeker,
Bill

NOTE: Work on milkbone was done in between homework, work, and school, so I haven't had a chance to write documentation. If parts of the code don't make sense, just /msg me and I'll be glad to try to explain it. :)