Hmm i cant seem to sing on gaim, i reemerged it, etc. and internet connection is all goo (otherwise i couldnt be posting right now ). Anyhow this also seems to happen on my parents computer also (internet also works, aim will not load). For mine, it gets to the part where it says "screen name sent" and stops.
(possibly list quick aim client alternatives uintil i find a permanent fix)
...it must have been very demanding having to learn how to use Microsoft Office, right up there with other lofty challenges like learning how to zip your fly without getting your dick caught.
try changing the port gaim connects to. like the "auto configure" option in AIM's windows client. 21 and 13 have always worked well for me on my dial-up connection which for some reason blocked the higher ports, or at least 5190, which is the default port the aim client tries to connect to.
start gaim, click on "accounts", select the account name, click "modify", click "show more options" and viola, you can change the port. I even found that on dial up, replacing login.oscar.aol.com with it's IP address (I think it is a static IP...) shortened connection times, especially if I was already doing heavy file transfer over the internet connection, as it didn't have to do a name lookup.
...it must have been very demanding having to learn how to use Microsoft Office, right up there with other lofty challenges like learning how to zip your fly without getting your dick caught.