Open main menu
Home
Random
Recent changes
Special pages
Community portal
Preferences
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Incubator escapee wiki
Search
User menu
Talk
Dark mode
Contributions
Create account
Log in
Editing
Pidgin (software)
(section)
Warning:
You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you
log in
or
create an account
, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.
Anti-spam check. Do
not
fill this in!
== History == [[File:Gaim-buddylist-2.0.0b6.png|thumb|right|Gaim 2.0.0 beta 6 running under [[GNOME]] 2.16.0]] The program was originally written by [[Mark Spencer (computer engineer)|Mark Spencer]], an [[Auburn University]] sophomore, as an emulation of AOL's IM program [[AOL Instant Messenger]] on Linux using the [[GTK+]] toolkit.<ref name="forbes">Herper, Matthew (July 16, 2002). [https://archive.today/20121208193508/http://www.forbes.com/2002/07/16/0716tentech.html "Better Instant Messaging Through Linux"] [[Forbes.com]].</ref> The earliest archived release was on December 31, 1998.<ref>{{cite web |title=User Guide |author=Crawford, J. |year=1999 |publisher=marko.net |quote=As of now, the most recent sources are here [ftp://ftp.marko.net/pub/gaim/gaim-19981231.tar.gz]{{dead link|date=May 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} (the file date is December 31, 1998) |url=http://www.marko.net/gaim/uguide.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19990508005552/http://www.marko.net/gaim/uguide.html |archive-date=May 8, 1999 |access-date=October 15, 2011}}</ref> It was named GAIM (''GTK+ AOL Instant Messenger'') accordingly. The emulation was not based on [[reverse engineering]], but instead relied on information about the protocol that AOL had published on the web. Development was assisted by some of AOL's technical staff.<ref name="forbes"/><ref>{{cite web |title=GAIM: GTK+ America OnLine Instant Messenger | work=Original project home page |publisher=marko.net |first=Mark|last=Spencer|year=1998 |url=http://www.marko.net/gaim/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19990210175349/http://www.marko.net/gaim/ |archive-date=February 10, 1999 }}</ref> Support for other IM protocols was added soon thereafter.<ref name="forbes"/> On 6 July 2015, Pidgin scored seven out of seven points on the [[Electronic Frontier Foundation]]'s secure messaging scorecard.<ref name="eff-sms">{{cite web|url=https://www.eff.org/secure-messaging-scorecard|publisher=Electronic Frontier Foundation|title=Secure Messaging Scorecard. Which apps and tools actually keep your messages safe?|date=November 4, 2014|access-date=July 6, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150528211829/https://www.eff.org/secure-messaging-scorecard|archive-date=May 28, 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> They have received points for having communications encrypted in transit, having communications encrypted with keys the providers don't have access to ([[end-to-end encryption]]), making it possible for users to independently verify their correspondent's identities, having past communications secure if the keys are stolen ([[forward secrecy]]), having their code open to independent review ([[Open-source software|open source]]), having their security designs well-documented, and having recent independent security audits.<ref name="eff-sms" /> Pidgin 3.0.0 Experimental 1, a preview release of Pidgin 3 versioned as 2.90, was announced and subsequently released on December 31, 2024 after many years of development.<ref name="borisov">{{cite news |last1=Borisov |first1=Bobby |title=After 16 Years, Pidgin 3 Takes Its First Steps |url=https://linuxiac.com/after-16-years-pidgin-3-takes-its-first-steps/ |access-date=25 April 2025 |work=Linuxiac |date=25 November 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://discourse.imfreedom.org/t/pidgin-3-0-experimental-1-has-been-released/227 |title=Pidgin 3.0.0 Experimental 1 Has been Released! |website=IMFreedom |access-date=2025-01-01}}</ref> It was shipped with IRC support, with more protocols being expected to be added in future versions.<ref name="borisov"/> In April 2025, version 2.91, a second preview release of Pidgin 3, was released.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Proven |first1=Liam |title=Remember Pidgin, formerly GAIM? It's coming back |url=https://www.theregister.com/2025/04/13/pidgin_chat_client_uopdate/ |access-date=25 April 2025 |work=[[The Register]] |date=13 April 2025}}</ref> In response to pressure from [[AOL]], the program was renamed to the [[acronym]]ous-but-lowercase ''gaim''. As AOL Instant Messenger gained popularity, AOL trademarked its acronym, "AIM", leading to a lengthy legal struggle with the creators of GAIM, who kept the matter largely secret.<ref>[http://www.pidgin.im/~seanegan/cgi-bin/pyblosxom.cgi/momentum2 "Sean Egan's Blog β The Power of Momentum (continued)"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110620180157/http://www.pidgin.im/~seanegan/cgi-bin/pyblosxom.cgi/momentum2 |date=June 20, 2011 }}. pidgin.im. May 23, 2007.</ref> On April 6, 2007, the project development team announced the results of their settlement with AOL, which included a series of name changes: ''Gaim'' became ''Pidgin'', ''libgaim'' became ''libpurple'', and ''gaim-text'' (the [[command-line interface]] version) became ''[[Finch (software)|Finch]]''. The name Pidgin was chosen in reference to the term "[[pidgin]]", which describes communication between people who do not share a common language.<ref name="Important">{{cite web|url=http://pidgin.im/index.php?id=177 |title=Important and Long Delayed News |publisher=pidgin.im |date=April 6, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070408150853/http://www.pidgin.im/index.php?id=177 |archive-date=April 8, 2007|access-date=October 15, 2011}}</ref> The name "purple" refers to "prpl", the internal libgaim name for an ''IM protocol plugin''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://developer.pidgin.im/wiki/PidginCommunity#Whatswiththenamelibpurpleanyway |title=What's with the name libpurple, anyway? |publisher=pidgin.im |access-date=April 22, 2014}}</ref> Due to the legal issues, version 2.0 of the software was frozen in beta stages. Following the settlement, it was announced that the first official release of Pidgin 2.0.0 was hoped to occur during the two weeks from April 8, 2007.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://pidgin.im/index.php?id=177 |title=Important and Long Delayed News |publisher=pidgin.im |date=April 6, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070408150853/http://www.pidgin.im/index.php?id=177 |archive-date=April 8, 2007|access-date=October 15, 2011 |quote=Now that the settlement is signed, we hope to have the final Pidgin 2.0.0 release late this week or early next.}}</ref> However, Pidgin 2.0 was not released as scheduled; Pidgin developers announced on April 22, 2007, that the delay was due to the preferences directory "<code>.gaim</code>".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pidgin.im/index.php?id=178 |publisher=pidgin.im |title=Working towards 2.0.0 |date=April 22, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070425193748/http://pidgin.im/index.php?id=178 |archive-date=April 25, 2007|access-date=April 22, 2007}}</ref> Pidgin 2.0.0 was released on May 3, 2007. Other visual changes were made to the interface in this version, including updated icons.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://pidgin.im/~seanegan/blog/identity.html |title=Identity vs. Account Orientation |date=April 30, 2007 |first=Sean |last=Egan |publisher=pidgin.im |access-date=May 1, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070504050033/http://pidgin.im/~seanegan/blog/identity.html |archive-date=May 4, 2007 |df=mdy-all }}</ref>
Edit summary
(Briefly describe your changes)
By publishing changes, you agree to the
Terms of Use
, and you irrevocably agree to release your contribution under the
CC BY-SA 4.0 License
and the
GFDL
. You agree that a hyperlink or URL is sufficient attribution under the Creative Commons license.
Cancel
Editing help
(opens in new window)