Version:            (using KDE KDE 3.3.1)
Installed from:    Debian testing/unstable Packages
OS:                Linux

Each entry in the contact-list [entry=buddy] has a icon on its leftside,
indicating the status of the user.
Kopete should support custom icons for the contact-list.
My opinion: The defaut icons are ugly!

- Problem Description:

The states are[maybe i forget one or 2]:
- online
- away
- busy
- [dont know them all :-)]

All states have an icon that identifies that state.
Unfortunaly theses icons cannot be changes.


- Resolution:

Write your own xml schema for icons mapped onto each state
for example:

iconpack1.xml:
<icon-mapping>
<icons>
<icon name="happy" url="http://www.site.com/happyface.png"/>
<icon name="whereareyou" url="http://www.site.com/away.png"/>
<icon name="busy1" url="http://www.site.com/busy.png"/>
</icons>
<mappings>
<status name="busy" icon="busy1"/>
<status name="away" icon="whereareyou"/>
<status name="online" icon="happy"/>
</mappings>
</icon-mapping>

In that way you can integrate an icon-chooser into the gui of kopete,
where the user should choose an icon-mapping xml file.
That file tries to load all icons, and then updates the gui.

This makes it possible to changes the icons for kopete to your own taste,
and everybody that understands xml can write their own icons-set.

There are better solutions, for example an zip file with an mapping xml file and the icons in it,
so that no internet connection is needed after the package is downloaded.

- Extension of this idea:

It would be cool if a user is able to change any icon in kopete, also for the menu's.
But i think the core of kde manages the icons packs, i do now know that precisely.