Can't Recall Buddy List

So everyone knows that in most Mac apps, when you hit the red dot in the red, yellow, green combination that appears at the top left of windows, it simply closes the window and generally does not QUIT the application. Instead of minimizing my iChat window, I usually just click the red dot to close the buddy list and then click on the iChat icon in the dock to cause the list to reappear when I need it.
Aside from the fact that iChat unexpectedly quits with Safari several times a week, this trick of clicking on the dock icon to make the buddy list reappear has completely died. Once I close out the buddy list I can't bring it back. If I go up to the Menu bar the "Show Buddy List" menu option doesn't even show up, and 90% of the options found in the drop down menus of iChat are greyed out, yet I'm still connected fine. For example the "Buddy List" option normally found in the "Window" drop down menu is greyed out.
The only way to get my buddy list to reappear is to log out and log back in again. Suggestions?
PowerBook G4 1.5GHz Mac OS X (10.4.8)

Hitting Cmd+L brings up the list if it is unable to be recalled.

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Can't see buddy

I'm just starting ichat. Got signed up, can log in etc, picture and sound work fine. At this stage only have 1 buddy. He can invite me to video chat - it rings, I accept everything works fine. But, when I log in, my buddy list is grayed out, and I cannot invite him to chat. I created him in buddy list, but I still can't see him and cannot initiate a chat. I told him my log in info (he is in a different country) he logs in as me and can see the buddy list, but I can't. The only difference seems to be that I am using Airport Extreme router and he is just on internet direct via modem. Could the router be the problem. When I first tried to get on, I had to enable appletalk to make iChat work, so that is done.

Interesting one.
At iChat 4 in Leopard (10.5.x) or higher a Buddy (Or you ) can set them selves to Invisible.
Sending your details to your Buddy should eliminate this if he has his Own regular Buddy List Open as he would still s"see" himself as Off Line.
Next is you may have added him as An AIM Name when he is @mac. com or @me.com as you have to choose when adding a Buddy in iChat 4
Now as above as he can "See" himself in your Buddy List this does not seem to apply.
Nor would if you had Blocked him in iChat > Preferences > Accounts > Block Specific People > Block list or the two Allow Buddy List Only or Allow Specific People as these setting are passed to the AIM servers and those Buddies are Flagged so that they work when you log in somewhere else (as passing your details over has done).
Now iChat does login to the aIM servers on port 5190 using the TCP Protocol by default.
iChat also uses this port on the UDP Protocol, mainly for File Sharing and Group chats but also for Some Buddy List feedback.
Changing the port to get around some routing devices that don't like using the port Twice will only work if port 5190 is Open on the UDP Protocol if its is open and the PRotocol has to be Specified in any Routing device.
Defcom is right that the Mac Firewall is the logical place to Start making sure iChat is allowed through any and all firewall settings.
It is in System Preferences > Security > Firewall
Allow All and Allow Specific apps with iChat added to the list are the ones that work. (iChat is NOT an Essential App).
(In the Advanced Button, Stealth should not be On as it interferes with A/V chats)
In the Airport Extreme (Accessed with Airport Utility in Applications/Utilities) the Internet pane has a NAT Tab.
In here is Port Mapping Protocol.
This should be ON/Enabled.
I would ask if your Modem routes ?
If so is the Extreme set to Bridge (Off) Mode in the Internet Pane so that the Extreme is just a Wireless access Point to the LAN created by the Modem ?
9:40 PM Friday; January 29, 2010
Please, if posting Logs, do not post any Log info after the line "Binary Images for iChat"

Combining iChat buddy lists

Is there a way I can have one buddy list opened for both AIM and Jabber (Google Chat)? I would prefer one, as opposed to cluttering my desktop with two separate buddy lists. I do use the Spaces program to clear clutter, but for some reason it just bothers me that their are two separate buddy lists.
Thanks!
MT

HI,
Try posting in the iChat Forum
Carolyn

IMessage Full Screen Buddy List Consolidation

It would be nice if we can get our buddy list to show up in full-screen mode. Perhaps have it attached to the chat window on the left or right?

hi,
It would nice.
Although iChat dealt with most windows separately the Buddy lists could be joined in iChat 5 and 6.
This would suggest that the Messages window could be linked to other windows or at list a Combined Buddy list if being used.
9:47 PM Tuesday; March 27, 2012
Please, if posting Logs, do not post any Log info after the line "Binary Images for iChat"
 iMac 2.5Ghz 5i 2011 (Lion 10.7.3)
 G4/1GhzDual MDD (Leopard 10.5.8)
 MacBookPro 2Gb (Snow Leopard 10.6.8)
 Mac OS X (10.6.8),
"Limit the Logs to the Bits above Binary Images."  No, Seriously

Ichat not working-grey buddy lists

Hi, ichat is not working. Grey buddy list all the time. Is this normal? Looking around it was suggested that I look into firewall issues. There, a surprise. First, my firewall is on. After, I have Personal file sharing, Aol IM, Ichat Bonjour, UDP 554, UDP 7070, and Network Time all checked.(Don't know what some of these do.) BUT, I see no ichat av choice. Don't I need this? Did I lose this and how do I get it back.
Under accounts I have a aim account, MSN friends(don't understand this one), a mac account and Bonjour. The Aim and Bonjour are checked. If someone could walk me through my errors, I'd really appreciate it.
Final question. Does it make a difference whether I use the mac account or the aim? I just want to be able to talk to people on ichat and msn. Video for ichat on macs/chat only msn and video for pc through Skype.
Thanks in advance.

Hi,
Sorry is what I posted was unclear.
Starting or making iChat go back to the Start Up Screens does not do what I think you want to do. (get rid of the mass of incorrectly added Buddies).
This is what I Posted before.
If you can Log On to the AIM servers for yourself but think that some of the Buddies have been added incorrectly it may pay to select all of them and then press the Backspace to delete them. (It will ask you to confirm).
You can delete the Buddy List one at a time or by selecting All of them and then use the BackSpace/Delete key.
However if the Buddies also have an Entry in the Address Book that needs to have the screen name delete as well otherwise you have problems with Feedbag errors when adding Buddies back again.
So,
Re 1. No, Do not delete iChat.
re 2. Do not bother as it does not do what you want.
Re 3. If you want to start from the Start Up screens then Delete the .plists
+NOTE: This does not delete your Buddy List which is kept on the AIM servers.+
+You have to delete each buddy that is spelt or entered wrong in iChat whilst Logged in to AIM to delete them. Adding Real Names to the Buddy List Name entry card adds them to your Address Book as a Back up to the AIM servers.+
I hope that make things clearer.
9:02 PM Monday; October 1, 2007

How can I see my jabber buddy list as a default and not a new message window on my message app??

I recently got my OS reinstalled and since then I had a multitude of issues.
1) my texts kept showing up on my macbook pro so I took my cell number off the preferences on messages on macbook. Can I still have people facetime me using my cell phone number?
2) I do see my jabber buddy list when I click on the message center as a default. I keep getting the new message window, can i set a default that when i click on it I see who is online vs. having to go to windows and select buddy list all the time??
3) what is bonjour and why would i want to use it?

Hi,
Re 1)
The settings for Messages > iMessages are separate from the FaceTime ones on both Mac and iOS devices.
Re 2)
If you have a Jabber (Google or Facebook Chats included) ID in Messages > Preferences > Accounts you can go to the Window Menu and display them.
By default they are a combined list (Any AIM, Jabber, Yahoo or Bonjour account that is logged in)
In the Preference > General section you can untick the item that gathers them into one list to show them separately.
They also appear in the Window Menu separately with their open CMD + # keystrokes.
Once you have them On show quit the app that way.
It will "Remember" that they were on Show the next time you open the app.
Re 3)
Bonjour is a process on the Mac that "sees" all other Macs on your LAN and shows them in the Side bar of the Finder window as "automatic" Shares.
In iChat and Messages it is an included account that cannot be deleted
If Enabled it can have it's own Buddy List (see 2) )
It shows the Names of the peopel singed in on the other Macs on your LAN that are also using iChat or Messages with the Bonjour Account Enabled.
The name is taken from the My Card in the Address Book or Contacts app.
The My Card should have the Mac User's details (you on Your computer when Logged in) and a head and Shoulders icon.
I have three computers
One is running iChat 4.x.x and on that machine (running Leopard) the My Card calls me Ralph G4 as it is running on G4 tower.
My Laptop has me as Ralph MacBook Pro
This iMac I am posting from has the My Card of Ralph Johns
On this computer if I have iChat running on the other I see Ralph G4 and Ralph MacBook Pro as "Buddies"
It can do everything that the AIM and Jabber logins can do.
Text Chat, Audio Only Chat, Video Chat, Screen Sharing, File Transfers etc.
10:21 pm Saturday; February 15, 2014
 iMac 2.5Ghz 5i 2011 (Mavericks 10.9)
 G4/1GhzDual MDD (Leopard 10.5.8)
 MacBookPro 2Gb (Snow Leopard 10.6.8)
 Mac OS X (10.6.8),
 Couple of iPhones and an iPad

One other user & I can no longer see each other in the buddy list

My friend & I, who have used iChat for years, and also recently, and neither of us has changed anything, can no longer see each other in either one of our buddy lists.
We've checked:
- That neither of us is blocking the other
- That other people can see us - they can
- That we can see other people - we can - we can even see the same people as each other, just not each other
We've tried blocking & unblocking each other, in case that would reset something, and both rebooted our Mac's several times.
Any ideas???

Ralph Johns (UK) wrote:
Hi,
I can see that Accounts/Screen Names can get messed up on the various flags set by an App to and therefore On the AIM servers.
What I can not see in this case is why it seems to be limited to just one Buddy on each computer.
As the Block list (And therefore presumably Allow Lists) are not actually shown in the .p0list I ma hoping that deleting it and restarting ichat at one end at least will reset that iChat form the Defaults haled in the app when you do this.
(you could delete that Account Screen Name from iChat ? Preferences > Accounts to achieve the same things in a more destructive way as it would tend to rewrite all the .plists which may included Jabber ones that are OK
We both did delete our screen names in iChat, and also deleted ALL the prefs manually.
Also, we've tried using entirely different computers to log-in to those same accounts, with the same results - somehow we're blocked from each other.
I think we're both giving up at this stage. We have additional accounts we can use to see each other. But it would be really nice to get to the bottom of it, because if it happens once it can happen again. Who knows? Maybe there are other people in my buddy list that this is happening with right now, but we don't know it. This person just happens to be someone I chat with a lot, and we noticed we weren't seeing each other.

My i chat balloon is on the bottom of my computer and it will not open - I have even called my daughter to see if she can open it by inviting me to chat and my buddy list is gone!!!!! I don't know what I hit or where I go from here???   But it seem to me

I can not even open it under settings?   I am at a total loss?????? HELP??

Hi,
With iChat open go to the Window Menu
This should list logged in Buddy Lists (Accounts)
Use the keystrokes listed to bring the Buddy list back in to view.
If there are no accounts shown to be logged in open the iChat Menu itself and go to Accounts and choose one.
A Chat window may show if you are using iChat 6 in Lion and closed the app with that chat window open (as Lion reopens the app in the "State" it was in before it was Quit or the computer was shut down.)
7:29 PM      Thursday; February 2, 2012
Please, if posting Logs, do not post any Log info after the line "Binary Images for iChat"
 iMac 2.5Ghz 5i 2011 (Lion 10.7.2)
 G4/1GhzDual MDD (Leopard 10.5.8)
 MacBookPro 2Gb (Snow Leopard 10.6.8)
 Mac OS X (10.6.8),
"Limit the Logs to the Bits above Binary Images."  No, Seriously

Why can I chat with a buddy but not add them to my Buddy list?

I'm using iChat 4.0.2 with OS 10.5.2.
I add a particular buddy to my list but the name fades in and out and then disappears all together in a few seconds. No matter how many times and ways I try, I cannot add them to my buddy list and get them to stay. I can add other buddies to my list normally.
During the time I can see this particular buddy's name in my buddy list, if I'm quick enough before they fade out, I can click to connect and chat perfectly. I can also request to view video with them and have them accept and view normally. However, if this buddy sends a video request to me, I hear the ring but then an instantaneous message window appears saying that the buddy "cancelled the invitation".
Interestingly, after connecting with this particular buddy, I can maintain their text chat window and text chat as normal. This buddy is using iChat 3.1.9 and OS 10.4.11.
Any help or ideas with how to keep this buddy in my list would be appreciated.

Interesting.
I would have gone the iChat > Preferences > Accounts > Security and just checked the Block list first.
com.apple.ichat.Subnet holds the sort order and Allow/Block lists
Setting the Preference to Allow All and then checking the Allow option and possibly the Block list would change the Subnet.plist anyway.
For some the Flashing/disappearing Buddy is a result of iChat 4's response to Feedbag Error 10
Feedbag errors are AIM codes for problems with the Buddy List.
In this case it is adding a Screen name with a Real name option and that Real Name is already in the Address Book.
To restate.
I would leave the deletion of com.apple.ichat.Subnet.plist (as this will remove all those that may be in your Block list) until all other options have been exhausted.
8:15 PM Sunday; June 15, 2008

Can't see buddy AT ALL on list

when i add my brother, he appears briefly but almost instantly fades away and disappears. he doesn't show up on my "Offline" list or anywhere else, but he says that i am on HIS buddy list. since he doesn't appear on my list, i can't chat with him. when i am able to right click fast enough, i can video chat with him for 2 minutes tops before the lag takes over and we can no longer understand each other.
any help with this would be greatly appreciated! i'm leaving for college in a few days and i'd really like to be able to stay in touch with my family this way.
thank you =]

If his name is already in your Address Book add his Screen name to that card and drag him to the iChat Buddy List
9:00 PM Friday; August 29, 2008

Can I add my windows vaio to my i chat buddy list?

I have a sony vaio with a camera and would like to add it to my buddy list Is this possible. I have bonjour installed on the pc but don't know how to access it any help would be great.

Verizon can only add devices to a plan that have a VZW modem installed already. If it was not designed for the VZW network then you will have to consider a Jetpack or some other mobile broadband device to connect to VZW for you first.
For a list of currently supported tablets:
http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/device/tablet?&zipRdr=y
To check the compatibility of your non-supported tablet with the VZW plans:
http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/nso/enterDeviceId.do

There is an unauthorized address on my jabber buddy list. After deleting it, it re-appears after about 5 seconds. How can I delete it permanently?

There is an unauthorized address on my jabber buddy list. After deleting it, it always re-appears after about 5 seconds. Is there a way to get rid of it permanently?

Hi,
Are you Logged in ?
You can only delete names from a List if you are logged in.
If you are logged in two (or More places) then they may override any login you are using.
9:20 PM Wednesday; January 11, 2012
Please, if posting Logs, do not post any Log info after the line "Binary Images for iChat"
 iMac 2.5Ghz 5i 2011 (Lion 10.7.2)
 G4/1GhzDual MDD (Leopard 10.5.8)
 MacBookPro 2Gb (Snow Leopard 10.6.8)
 Mac OS X (10.6.8),
"Limit the Logs to the Bits above Binary Images."  No, Seriously

Buddy list all gray--how can this not work??

I've got iChat 3.1.8 and only opened it when i got a little Logitec USB camera. Plugged everything in, set all the settings, and added my buddy (another Mac user). I could not initiate a video chat because my buddy list names and icons are all gray. There are NO green icons at all. But she said I showed up just fine in her buddy list, and when she initiated the chat it worked perfectly. We had a nice chat. But when we tried again from my end, still no color in my life.
The camera has worked fine since I plugged it in. I bought and installed iChatUSBCam v2.2.1, which allowed me to set a few more settings. Alas, nothing has changed.
I've read this question a few times on the board and--most frustrating--they all seem to say "Oh, it worked itself out." But mine isn't working itself out. Camera and microphone are enabled. No one is blocked. I'm lost.
ibook G4 Mac OS X (10.4.10)

Hi M Smith 1,
Welcome to the Apple Discussions
In System Preferences > Sharing > Firewall tab is the Firewall On ?
Have you set the iChat ports in a New options if it Is ?
Did those ports include 5190 on UDP ?
If Yes to these three question use the Advanced button.
Does this have the "Block UDP Traffic" item ticked ?
If so deselect it.
The iChat ports also need to be open in your modem and any separate router.
If Port Forwarding was used here it must point to the IP that your computer is getting or using. ( See System Preferences > Network > (Select connection method) > TCP/IP tab )
On some modems and or routers the forwarding or use of TCP and UDP protocols on port 5190 seems to cause a conflict.
iChat can have the login to AIM and text chatting moved to a different port.
iCHat > Preferences > Accounts
Select the AIM or @mac account on the left
Select the Server Settings tab
Whilst Logged out of AIM change the port to 443.
If all these do not work go to Users/(your Account)/Library/Preferences and delete com.apple.ichat.AIM.plist and restart ichat
10:55 AM Monday; July 23, 2007

My status is set to available, but nobody can see me on their buddy lists, therefore I must initiate all conversations and video chats. How can I fix this? I am not on invisible and am not logged in from anywhere else.

My status is set to available, but nobody can see me on their buddy lists, therefore I must initiate all conversations and video chats. How can I fix this? I am not on invisible and am not logged in from anywhere else.

Hi
It would be helpful to know which iChat version and what type of Account you have ?
9:33 PM Monday; August 20, 2012
Please, if posting Logs, do not post any Log info after the line "Binary Images for iChat"
 iMac 2.5Ghz 5i 2011 (Lion 10.7.2)
 G4/1GhzDual MDD (Leopard 10.5.8)
 MacBookPro 2Gb (Snow Leopard 10.6.8)
 Mac OS X (10.6.8),
"Limit the Logs to the Bits above Binary Images."  No, Seriously

Can't add to Buddy List

To add a name to the Buddy List in iChat AV 3.0.1, I follow the directions exactly -- click the + on the lower left corner of the Buddy List, select a name from the Address Book that pops up (a name which HAS a .mac account), and click "select buddy." BUT nothing appears on my Buddy List! Please help -- there's nothing about this in the instructions!

Hi Brenda,
Welcome to the Apple Discussion Pages.
Go to the View menu and select the Show Off line Buddies.
Does your Buddy now appear ?
If this is a Buddy who is already in the Address Book make sure his @mac name is added to the Instant Message field under AIM.
Ralph

Can't Recall Buddy List

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