Ask Slashdot: Are there Linux Alternatives for AOL's Instant Messenger?

Gopal Sarma asks: "Hi, I am a relatively new linux user, and recently a friend called me asking me if I knew of any Windows alternatives, because he is sick of it. I naturally recomended Linux, but I have a problem. He uses AOL's Instant Messenger, and I can't seem to find any clones on Linux. I found gaim, but i don't know how stable it is. Does anyone have any ideas?"