The rules of the Gaim

About a month ago, I've finally decided to switch from every application I use (That is, every application which isn't Opera) to an open source-d alternative. So far it's going good, bar the small inconvenience here and there. In fact, some of the alternatives have turned out to be better than the ones I've used before (VLC for example).
But I still haven't been able to get Gaim working without any problems for more than an hour. When it does work, it's quite solid, and doesn't have the bloated feeling of the other IM clients I've used. But the problem is, it doesn't always work. Every hour or so, it disconnects, and the connecting back process can take up to a quarter of an hour, during which it keeps popping those annoying "signing" windows and keeps shooting the "Buddy List" window on the desktop.
Thankfully, it's something that I've learned will soon be a thing of the past. The 2.0 version will get rid of the signing window(s), and hopefully will fix those annoying disconnection bugs. Until then, GRRRRR.