On SDF you can use nearly all of the popular instant messaging protocols via fast and efficient text clients. Many users have set up scripts so that they can use various IM clients via their computers or wireless devices such as two way pagers, blackberry, palm pilots and cellphones, and you can too.
Some of the clients listed in this page are able to connect simultaneusly to various IM networks as centerim and finch (which is purple/pidgin based). Links are provided to web pages with detailed steps to connect to the various IM networks using the available clients at SDF
Also, some clients are not very actively maintained, so may not be able to connect to the networks they claim are able to connect to, your best bet are centerim and finch.
(+) In AMD64 hosts. (*) In Alpha hosts.
| bsflite (+) | centericq (+) | centerim | ekg (+) | finch (*) | naim (+) | mcabber (+) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AIM | YES | YES | YES | YES | YES | ||
| Gadu-Gadu | YES | YES | YES | YES | |||
| Jabber/XMMP | YES | YES | YES | YES | |||
| MSN | YES | YES | YES | ||||
| YAHOO | YES | YES | YES | ||||
| ICQ | YES | YES | YES |
Bitlbee is an IRC gateway to MSN, ICQ, Jabber, Yahoo, and AIM. It allows you to connect to these services using an irc client.