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(12:00:08) gstreamer: Internal GStreamer error: state change failed.  Please file a bug at http://bugzilla.gnome.org/enter_bug.cgi?product=GStreamer.

(pidgin:31389): GStreamer-CRITICAL **: 
Trying to dispose element play, but it is not in the NULL state.
You need to explicitly set elements to the NULL state before
dropping the final reference, to allow them to clean up.

(12:00:08) gstreamer: Internal GStreamer error: state change failed.  Please file a bug at http://bugzilla.gnome.org/enter_bug.cgi?product=GStreamer.

(pidgin:31389): GStreamer-CRITICAL **: gst_element_set_state: assertion `GST_IS_ELEMENT (element)' failed
(12:00:08) GLib-GObject: invalid uninstantiatable type `(null)' in cast to `GstObject'

(pidgin:31389): GStreamer-CRITICAL **: gst_object_unref: assertion `((GObject *) object)->ref_count > 0' failed

Could you get a backtrace with debug symbols and G_DEBUG=fatal_warnings?

For this, install the debug packages of gstreamer, glib and libc from your distribution and run

G_DEBUG=fatal_warnings gdb pidgin
run
[wait until it stops]
threads apply all bt

and then give the complete output here.

]G_DEBUG=fatal_warnings gdb pidgin
GNU gdb 6.7.1
Copyright (C) 2007 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
License GPLv3+: GNU GPL version 3 or later <http://gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html>
This is free software: you are free to change and redistribute it.
There is NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by law.  Type "show copying"
and "show warranty" for details.
This GDB was configured as "x86_64-pc-linux-gnu"...
(no debugging symbols found)
Using host libthread_db library "/lib/libthread_db.so.1".
(gdb) run
Starting program: /usr/bin/pidgin 
(no debugging symbols found)
warning: no loadable sections found in added symbol-file system-supplied DSO at 0x7fff867fe000
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---Type <return> to continue, or q <return> to quit---quit      
Error while reading shared library symbols:
Quit
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---Type <return> to continue, or q <return> to quit---q
Error while reading shared library symbols:
Quit
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---Type <return> to continue, or q <return> to quit---q
Error while reading shared library symbols:
Quit
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---Type <return> to continue, or q <return> to quit---q
Error while reading shared library symbols:
Quit
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Program exited normally.
(gdb)

Which distribution is this? Looks really broken to me...

G_DEBUG=fatal_warnings gdb pidgin
GNU gdb 6.7.1
Copyright (C) 2007 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
License GPLv3+: GNU GPL version 3 or later <http://gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html>
This is free software: you are free to change and redistribute it.
There is NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by law.  Type "show copying"
and "show warranty" for details.
This GDB was configured as "x86_64-pc-linux-gnu"...
(no debugging symbols found)
Using host libthread_db library "/lib/libthread_db.so.1".
(gdb) run
Starting program: /usr/bin/pidgin 
(no debugging symbols found)
warning: no loadable sections found in added symbol-file system-supplied DSO at 0x7fff6b9fe000
(no debugging symbols found)
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---Type <return> to continue, or q <return> to quit---
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---Type <return> to continue, or q <return> to quit---
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---Type <return> to continue, or q <return> to quit---
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---Type <return> to continue, or q <return> to quit---
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q

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[New LWP 13679]
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GStreamer-CRITICAL **: 
Trying to dispose element test, but it is not in the NULL state.
You need to explicitly set elements to the NULL state before
dropping the final reference, to allow them to clean up.

aborting...
[New LWP 13472]

Program received signal SIGABRT, Aborted.
0x00002b0b447d93c5 in raise () from /lib/libc.so.6
(gdb) 
(gdb) 
(gdb) 
(gdb) 
(gdb) 
(gdb) q
The program is running.  Exit anyway? (y or n) n
Please answer y or n.
The program is running.  Exit anyway? (y or n) Not confirmed.
(gdb)

I am on gentoo, I do not know if it is broken or not broken but I am sure I do not see issues with my other programs.

Then internal stream error is a configuration issue (and a bad error message on our side, which was fixed in gst-plugins-good a long time ago), run gnome-sound-properties and select different inputs/outputs there.

The refcount warnings are most likely issues in pidgin's error handling (seen these before, but always with pidgin, and only wih pidgin), looks like a refcount bug of some sort.

As for the debugging symbols, you would need to ask gentoo people how to get proper debugging symbols installed/created. Without full debugging info, it's hard to see what's going on.

I'm going to close this bug for now. Please feel free to re-open it or file a new bug if the issue persists with up-to-date versions of pidgin and GStreamer and you can provide a stack trace with proper debugging symbols. Thanks!