Hi, i been suffering the same kind of problems from some time ago, i fix the problem going into "preferences", "connection" and changing settings to "http connection mode in 80 port" , tried in 0.98.4 and 0.99b just downloaded a few minutes ago, and work in both versions.
I hope this can help people with same problem, if someone fix this way and can tell us, was a great help

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THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS!. I just came on to check on any latest update(s) to this and I see your post, so I make the necessary changes and hey presto signing in seems to happen instantly as it once did so long ago. Lucky really as if such a helpful post wasn't here I was going to fly off in a bit of a rant over how long it is taking to fix/release a fix.
That said, I was initially concerned that changing to that setting may mean the sending/receiving of messages is delayed (a bit like using Messenger on a mobile phone) but through a test with someone it doesn't seem to be a problem, so that's great.
It is however still a shame that the official fix for this appear to have been done but not publicly released via the normal (not the SVN) version - I'd say it's a pretty major bug if you can't sign in easily!
Still, massive thanks to
ArkanHell - I don't know where you live but if you are ever in London or planning to come to London then let me know as I owe you a drink!
