First off, I know that skype doesn't work on the 770 and all that, but I was curious as to why there is no plugin available for the chat feature of skype (ie without the calling functions).
There is an api for skype on linux, so is there a technical reason why a plugin for gaim, or even a standalone app couldn't be created for the 770?
Remember i'm only talking about the chat features of skype.

GAIM is now called Pidgin!!!!

You could try asking in the Pidgin on Maemo garage forum (details here) - are the sources available for the Skype plugin? Is the Skype chat API the same on Maemo as it is elsewhere (one would think so, but shouldn't assume...).