Yeah, AOL is pretty nasty about keeping other companies from communication with AIM. Let’s face it. They sell ads in AIM, hoping that a few people will actually click on them. If I’m using Jabber or Odigo to chat with my AIM buddies, then AOL gets ZIP! LOL
Of course, it’s a bit more complex than that, because AIM uses central servers as traffic cops…and servers cost $$$$$…but bottom line is more $$$$$ for AOL.