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Changes between Version 82 and Version 83 of Protocol Specific Questions

Timestamp:: Jan 31, 2009, 10:51:56 AM (15 years ago)
Author:: chemistrydioxide
Comment:: structured MSN section

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Protocol Specific Questions

-                      v82
+                      v83
 == MSN Protocol ==
+=== Why are file transfers so slow? ===
+MSN file transfer support is limited to the proxied version of file transfer support in the protocol.  This means that the files are sent to MSN's servers, then the server sends the data to the other user.  We don't know if or when we will ever support any of the peer-to-peer file transfer methods available in the MSN protocol.
+=== Is there a way to invite more than one person to a chat? ===
+Yes, but this is a case where our design differs from the official clients.  In the MSN world, there is no distinction between an IM session and a chat.  Within libpurple and Pidgin, however, there is.  If you start an IM with one user, then you cannot invite someone else to the conversation.  If, however, you right-click the buddy and select Initiate Chat, then you can invite as many people to the chat as you want using Conversation->Invite.  Unfortunately, Pidgin does not yet provide a convenient way to select multiple buddies at once to invite.
+=== Why can't I log into MSN? ===
+=== Setting up MSN accounts and Connection issues ===
+==== Why can't I log into MSN? ====
 You probably did not compile Pidgin with SSL support, or the SSL plugin failed to load.  The MSN protocol requires the use of SSL, which Pidgin provides by either GnuTLS or the combination of NSS and NSPR from the Mozilla project.  See [wiki:FAQssl these notes] to get SSL up and running.
 === Why isn't MSN in the list of protocols? ===
+==== Why isn't MSN in the list of protocols? ====
 If you're running Gentoo, rebuild with the "msn" USE flag enabled.  For some reason, it was deemed necessary to make the MSN protocol an off-by-default USE flag.  If you don't like this behavior, complain to the Gentoo maintainers.
 For other distributions, it is probably that the MSN protocol plugin didn't load.  See the next question.
 === The MSN plugin won't load, but I have Mozilla NSS or GNUTLS or both! ===
+==== The MSN plugin won't load, but I have Mozilla NSS or GNUTLS or both! ====
 See [wiki:FAQssl these notes] on getting SSL up and running.
 === What does "MSN: S: 911 3" in the debug window mean when I can't connect? ===
+==== What does "MSN: S: 911 3" in the debug window mean when I can't connect? ====
 Unhandled command '911' indicates some form of authentication error. This could be simply that your password is wrong.
 …
 If any of those fail, or take a long time to connect, then this is probably not a bug in Pidgin.
+=== What does "Has You" in the buddy list tooltip mean? ===
+==== How do I set my MSN Friendly Name (the name other users see)? ====
+In the Buddy List window, go to Accounts->'' your MSN account''->Set Friendly Name.
+==== Can I set my friendly name with a plugin? ====
+No.  This leads to far too much abuse of the already-abused friendly name.  Stuffing such useless information as the currently playing song on your music player or a status message inside the friendly name completely defeats the purpose of the friendly name, which is to provide a more easily recognizable name than an e-mail address.
+=== MSN Buddies ===
+==== What does "Has You" in the buddy list tooltip mean? ====
 It shows you if that MSN user has added you to his/her buddy list. "Has you: No" does ''not'' mean you can't talk to that person.
 === Why is "Has You" gone in 2.5.0? ===
+==== Why is "Has You" gone in 2.5.0? ====
 This seems to be related to switching to MSNP15. For more info, see ticket #6637.
+=== How do I set my MSN Friendly Name (the name other users see)? ===
+In the Buddy List window, go to Accounts->'' your MSN account''->Set Friendly Name.
+=== Can I set my friendly name with a plugin? ===
+No.  This leads to far too much abuse of the already-abused friendly name.  Stuffing such useless information as the currently playing song on your music player or a status message inside the friendly name completely defeats the purpose of the friendly name, which is to provide a more easily recognizable name than an e-mail address.
+=== Can I turn off displaying nicknames/friendly names? ===
+==== Why do I keep getting a "Buddy List Synchronization" error? ====
+Sometimes, for a particular buddy, you may keep getting a "Buddy List Synchronization" error every time you sign in, even if you accept adding the buddy. There are two possible reasons for this problem.
+The first possibility is because the buddy is on your address book, and not marked for use with messenger. Pidgin does not currently handle this case. The second possibility is that there are multiple copies of that buddy in your address book in different groups than Pidgin expects.
+In order to fix this, you need to login to your account via Hotmail and edit your address book. If you use some sort of network-provided account that is affiliated with MSN, you should still be able to login for this purpose (even if you don't have an inbox).
+For the first case, from the address book, edit the contact that matches, and check the box for "Use this address with Windows Live Messenger". For the second case, look for multiple copies of the buddy and remove all but the one in the group Pidgin expects. These buddies will most probably have the Quickname set to <userid part of email address>+<incrementing number>.
+=== Conversations ===
+==== Can I turn off displaying nicknames/friendly names? ====
 No.  If your buddies are using friendly names that make it difficult to distinguish them from each other, use aliases to set useful differentiating names for the buddies.
 === Can I turn off displaying custom smileys? ===
+==== Can I turn off displaying custom smileys? ====
 Yes.  It is in the options for your MSN account.  Go to Accounts->Manage, select your MSN account, click Modify, select the Advanced tab, and uncheck "Show custom smileys".
+=== Why do I keep getting a "Buddy List Synchronization" error? ===
+Sometimes, for a particular buddy, you may keep getting a "Buddy List Synchronization" error every time you sign in, even if you accept adding the buddy. There are two possible reasons for this problem.
+The first possibility is because the buddy is on your address book, and not marked for use with messenger. Pidgin does not currently handle this case. The second possibility is that there are multiple copies of that buddy in your address book in different groups than Pidgin expects.
+In order to fix this, you need to login to your account via Hotmail and edit your address book. If you use some sort of network-provided account that is affiliated with MSN, you should still be able to login for this purpose (even if you don't have an inbox).
+For the first case, from the address book, edit the contact that matches, and check the box for "Use this address with Windows Live Messenger". For the second case, look for multiple copies of the buddy and remove all but the one in the group Pidgin expects. These buddies will most probably have the Quickname set to <userid part of email address>+<incrementing number>.
+=== What does "Error reading from switchboard server" mean? ===
+We haven't fully figured that out yet, but even Microsoft's client seems to get similar errors, although with less frequency than we do.
+=== Why do I some of my messages result in an error? ===
+==== Why do I some of my messages result in an error? ====
 Your message might have been censored by Microsoft. All clients are affected as
 messages are being censored at the server.
 See #2278 and http://virtuelvis.com/archives/2006/02/microsoft-censoring-msn-messenger
+=== I have an MSN-related problem with Pidgin 2.4.3 or prior. ===
+=== Miscellaneous MSN questions ===
+==== Why are file transfers so slow? ====
+MSN file transfer support is limited to the proxied version of file transfer support in the protocol.  This means that the files are sent to MSN's servers, then the server sends the data to the other user.  We don't know if or when we will ever support any of the peer-to-peer file transfer methods available in the MSN protocol.
+==== Is there a way to invite more than one person to a chat? ====
+Yes, but this is a case where our design differs from the official clients.  In the MSN world, there is no distinction between an IM session and a chat.  Within libpurple and Pidgin, however, there is.  If you start an IM with one user, then you cannot invite someone else to the conversation.  If, however, you right-click the buddy and select Initiate Chat, then you can invite as many people to the chat as you want using Conversation->Invite.  Unfortunately, Pidgin does not yet provide a convenient way to select multiple buddies at once to invite.
+==== What does "Error reading from switchboard server" mean? ====
+We haven't fully figured that out yet, but even Microsoft's client seems to get similar errors, although with less frequency than we do.
+=== Pidgin 2.4.3 and older versions ===
 ==== Why can't I set a status message on MSN in Pidgin 2.4.3 or prior? ====
 ==== Why can't I send or receive offline messages in Pidgin 2.4.3 or prior? ====