Jeff, Jakub: I can I agree with you don't like/using buddy contact list for IM, but again, we shouldn't develop applications for hackers (as we did with GNOME 1.4). 99% of IM users wants a buddy list, just because some of the most cases of use:

• Alice has Just arrived home and is reading her email: she takes a quick look to her buddies screen names (this is because lot of users change their screen name to show their feelings) and if her friend Bob screen name is "I hate the world" she would talk with him
• Alice is bored: she chooses one of her old friends she hasn't talked with in three months
• Alice wants to have sex: she has to see the full list of buddies, because she hasn't a group called "fuck friends" (and cannot do a search), because she is very polite
• Alice...