I've gotta say trillian pro is the biggest bag of shit program I have used in a looong time. And to top it off the sanctioned trolls that literally live in the "support" forums are beyond rude, and ironically intolerant of intolerance.

Don't throw your money down the shitter. If you must have plugins, skins, and other bells and whistles use

Miranda

http://miranda-im.org

it has waaaay more plugins and features, won't fuck up your buddy lists, doesn't suck ram, crash for no reason, and is supported by people who give a shit.

Alternatively you can strip away the new AIM crap by installing the freeware AIMutation

http://aimutation.com

on top of an 'old' versoin of AIM from OldVersions.com