Launchpad bug: https://bugs.edge.launchpad.net/hundredpapercuts/+bug/503052

"When I launch Empathy, the contact list window is sometimes (always?) minimized to the Messaging Menu. When this happens, it is not obvious that Empathy was launched successfully -- did it crash? Am I online? I launched Empathy to call contact X, where is the contact list?

"When Empathy is launched [from a launcher], the contact list window should be displayed."

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I understand the rationale for respecting the user's decision to close the contact list, and to save that preference across process instances and sessions, but in the particular case where Empathy is launched by a user explicitly clicking on a launcher (e.g. in the applications menu, AWN/Docky), the contact window should be shown so that the user knows empathy was opened. The current behavior of not showing the contact list window on launch is reasonable when, for example, Empathy begins with the session, but when Empathy is explicitly launched by the user, not showing the contact list window can be utterly confusing.