How to update Gaim on FreeBSD 4.8-RELEASE to handle the new MSN protocol.

You have Gaim 0.59 installed. You want 0.71 or higher for the new MSN lockin protocol.

1. Try to install the FreeBSD binary package (for 4-stable). This fails with dependency-checking problems.
2. Try to install from the source tarball with configure;make;make install. This fails from crap Perl in Gaim's 'l33t++ custom configurator thingy.
3. Update various libraries by hand to fix the dependency problems. This breaks the current 0.59.
4. By various evil hand-hacking involving cvsupit and portupgrade, get 0.59 working again.
5. redcountess searches the Gaim bug database and sees that it requires Perl 5.8 or later. Cheers to the FreeBSD ports system's dependency checking! Install the package for Perl 5.8.1, 'cos there's no fuckin' way we're sitting watching the thing compile.
6. Try to install from the source tarball again. This fails from some other crapness. (Not that Gaim is a Linuxism-infested 'l33tf3st.)
7. With great trepidation, run cvsupit, which upgrades the whole fecking ports tree from CVS. You now have the port in place for 0.73.
8. cd /usr/ports/net/gaim;make install - this runs. Until it gets to libatk, which must be deinstalled and reinstalled by hand, 'cos that's too clever for the dependency checking.
9. cd /usr/ports/net/gaim;make install - this runs. Until it gets to libgtk, which is actually installed in the right version. It just doesn't think it is. Deinstall and reinstall by hand, which leads to it being recompiled. Have the metaphorical cup of tea, because GTK2 is a fat bastard.
10. cd /usr/ports/net/gaim;make install - this runs. Until it gets to the fact that the previous version is still installed. Deinstall.
11. make install - this tells you fairly quickly that the old version is still installed. Set variable to force installation.
12. make install - this runs. It installs.
13. Run gaim - it asks for /usr/local/lib/libatk-1.0.so.200, which apparently got trashed along the way. ln -s /usr/local/lib/libatk-1.0.so.400 /usr/local/lib/libatk-1.0.so.200 and try again.
14. The fucker runs at fucking last. Fuck! redcountess updates her MSN contact list.

redcountess has a penis THIS BIG.

Maybe open source won't be wiping Windows off the map tomorrow.

Mmmmm. Brains.

• As you know, I'm strictly attracted by minds.

• There's got to be a Stephen King story in this.

• Why Hollywood must be destroyed. Now. Utterly.

I'm off work today, being unable even to get to the station. I'm hobbling a bit better, though, and fear I'll be able to show up tomorrow. arkady's mad 'l33t bandaging sk1llz have proven most efficacious. So it's a quiet day in with redcountess, hoping and praying the milk for coffee doesn't run out. Because then one of us would have to leave the house.