New buddy
When you add a new buddy on your contact list, it appears first with this logo: This means that he has received an invitation to be part of your contacts and has not yet accepted.
If you receive an invitation, you will see the name of the sender in your chat with a small red bell icon like this:
Click on it and a window will appear like this: Click yes if you agree.
When the invitation has been accepted, the two contacts will see each other in their contact list and may start to chat.
Start a conversation
To start a conversation, just click on the name of the person you want to talk to. A new small window will open like this:
Type your message and then tap the enter key on your keyboard to send it. The double check (1) turns blue when the message has been received and read. To reduce the conversation window, click on the blue part. To close it, click on the cross (2). The menu (3) allows you to access the option “send the conversation by e-mail”. This allows someone to follow the conversation, or send a corresponding attachment to the conversation, for example.