Version:            (using KDE 4.2.2)
Installed from:    Debian stable Packages

From: http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=378184
Original reporter: "Jason Spiro" <jasonspiro3@gmail.com>

Problem: A dozen of my contacts all have same icon: a diagram of a
bald head with  blue-colored skin.

Feature request: I would prefer if the Jabber-using buddies had a
lightbulb icon, the AIM-using buddies had the AIM logo icon, and the
MSN-using buddies had a butterfly icon.

I, a newbie to Kopete hacking, humbly offer tips on how one could
implement this fix below. (I don't know if my tips would work.) I also
ask some questions about whether my fix would actually work. I would
very much appreciate feedback.
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.
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Tips for implementing the fix: The protocol icons are in
/usr/share/apps/kopete/icons/crystalsvg/32x32/apps. I assume they are
converted upstream from unlimited-resolution SVG source. The blue head
icons are elsewhere. There are actually four slightly different blue
head icons: metacontact_{online,away,offline,unknown}.png. However,
it's not that important to show online/away/offline status in the
buddy icon space because that info is saved by automatic
contrast-fading of icons of buddies who are away, and because the same
info (plus Extended Away status) is shown in the tiny (16x16) icons to
the right of contact names. Therefore, I feel it is fine to ignore the
fact that there are four slightly different blue head icons. The code
that seems to return the blue head icons seems to be the function
MetaContact::statusIcon() in kopete/libkopete/kopetemetacontact.cpp. I
assume that if the lines of this sort:
       return QString::fromUtf8( "metacontact_online" );
were changed to return something like:
       return QString::fromUtf8( "msn_protocol" );
or
       return QString::fromUtf8( "aim_protocol" );
or something similar, based on which kind of protocol the contact
used, then you would be OK.

Question 1 about proposed fix: If I do not implement the above
proposed fix, does anyone else here also want this fixed and will
implement the fix themselves? :-) I am currently working on another
project - ITP bug http://bugs.debian.org/376431 - currently.

Question 2 about proposed fix: Most people don't use the subcontact
features of Kopete (where, if one friend uses three different
protocols, you can show just one icon for that friend). But some
people do use that feature. How will my proposed  interact with
Kopete's metacontact features? Could Kopete show the blue head for
supercontacts with subcontacts below, but use my fix the rest of the
time?

Signing off, and wishing there was a hackers' guide to Kopete :-),
Jason