I've borrowed this from the install tarball:

http://bsflite.sourceforge.net/


BSFlite - BS-Free AIM Client

(C) 2003-2005 by Claudio P. Leite
leitec (a) leitec (d) org
AIM: augaetis byrjun

This program includes NO WARRANTY. Please see the file COPYING for more
details.

INTRODUCTION

BSF is a very light and minimal client for AOL(R)'s Instant Messenger(TM)
service that works (or should work) under most varieties of UNIX. It
features only the basics that every client should have, meaning
send/receive messages, add/delete buddies and view the buddy list.

USAGE

If you're skimming, please read the "Using with screen" section.

BSFlite supports a small configuration file. An example file is included
in the archive. To set up a minimal file, enter the following:

% mkdir ~/.bsflite
% chmod 700 ~/.bsflite
% echo "username myscreenname" > ~/.bsflite/config

If you'd like to have your password stored, run the following:

% echo "password mypassword" >> ~/.bsflite/config

Custom HTML profiles are read from ~/.bsflite/profile.
Buddy icons are read from ~/.bsflite/icons. Icons may be in GIF and JPEG
format (as far as I know).

Now just type bsflite to start and connect. If you did not make a config
file, you will be prompted for username and password.

Type help or h at the prompt to see commands. It's best not to put a
space between the commands (it might be a little buggy otherwise, since
that's not the way I do it). For example:

:: mmybuddy this is a test

instead of

:: m mybuddy this is a test

If you prefer that way and find a bug, please notify me. Please also
notice that you cannot put a space in the person's screen name.

To facilitate the m command, you can type the first few letters of
someone's screen name (provided they are in your buddy list) and press TAB
to auto-complete the name. Please see the bugs section later for some
current problems.

USING WITHIN SCREEN

I strongly recommend the use of screen, the console windowing system.
With screen, you can keep this program running even while you're logged
off the system and reattach once you're back. Since bsflite stores
incoming messages you missed and supports away messages, this is a
very convenient feature. Also, if you're connecting to a system
remotely over SSH or telnet and your connection is dropped, screen
keeps your session running. Check with your sysadmin if you're on a
multiuser system to see if screen is allowed.

BUDDY LISTS

As of version 0.80, imcomm writes your buddy lists to the server, like
the official client. So, the ~/.bsflite/buddies file is now unnecessary.
Please delete the file after running the program once if you have one,
because your buddies will already have been added to the server.

RATE LIMIT WARNINGS

The confession: IMComm does not respect rate limits just yet.

The workaround, sort of: BSFlite displays a warning on the prompt to let you
know you are sending packets too quickly.

If you're being warned, your prompt will be:

<!> [randomperson] ::

This will go away in 30 seconds unless you're warned again. If you exceed the
limit, the server will begin to ignore you. At this point, your prompt will
be:

<!!> [randomperson] ::

This will go away in some time (haven't figured out how much just yet), but
for some reason the server doesn't tell us until you sent out a packet that
isn't ignored. It's quirky; the easiest way to avoid this is to be gentle.

NOTE: Requesting several peoples' profiles will most likely cause a rate
limit warning. This is due to the fact that request makes two calls, one for a
profile request and one for an away message request. Since these are sent
without respect to rate limits, they are quite quick.

MISCELLANY

To update your profile, edit ~/.bsflite/profile then run:

% kill -USR1 <bsflite PID> (use ps to get the PID)
or (for Linux)
% killall -USR1 bsflite

If you'd like to create a set of away messages (see the G command),
create a file ~/.bsflite/awaymessages, with one message per line.
You may use HTML formatting in each line, but make sure there is no
line break in a message, because that'll indicate a new message.

Type G to see which numbers are assigned to each message, and type
G<num> to set that away message. One-time messages can still be set
with the g<message> command.

LOGGING

By default, BSF logs all AIM conversations in a directory called .bsflite/log
in your home directory. This directory is chmod 700, meaning only you can
read it. This will be a compile-time option later (I really don't like
configuration files, so all features will be compile-time!)

LICENSING (NOTE: I am not a lawyer.)

BSF is licensed under the BSD License. Please see the COPYING file
in the main bsf directory. The IMComm library, included in the main source
package, is also licensed under the same terms.
This project contains no code from AOL, and was developed without the use
of reverse engineering of any AOL product. Instant Messenger is a trademark
of AOL.

CONTACT

BSF releases may be obtained from http://bsflite.sf.net/ , and I may be
reached at leitec (a) leitec (d) org, or over AIM, "augaetis byrjun."

Please send me a note if you like bsflite! Hearing from users encourages
me to keep developing the program.

Also, I like receiving postcards, so if you'd like to send one to show your
appreciation, you may at:

Claudio Leite
4201 Massachusetts Ave NW
Apt A390W
Washington, DC 20016
USA

Thanks and enjoy!