First I would recommend that you go through
The great AT Linux/BSD/*NIX FAQ project!-unpacking tar files
In case you are as lazy as I am and do not want to take the trouble of scrolling down till post #3, here it is:
Originally posted by: Electrode
Alright then, I suppose I will begin things:
Q: How do I unpack a .tar.gz or .tar.bz2 file?
A. tar xzvf filename (it it's a .tar.gz)
tar xjvf filename (it it's a .tar.bz2)
now I would recommend that you read the README file on the licq.wibble.net page:
<snip>
INSTALLATION:
(If you have a binary distribution then see the FAQ for how to
do a manual install. Don't worry it's very easy, any monkey
could do it.)
As root:
1. Type './configure' and it will determine all the right settings and
directories for your system.
2. Type 'make' and in theory it will build. If you are using a non-GNU system,
such as FreeBSD or Solaris, you will need the GNU version of make, often
installed as `gmake'. If you get errors about "void *" see the FAQ.
3. Type 'make install' and licq will be installed (defaults to
/usr/local).
4. Go to plugins/qt-gui and follow the directions there (doc/README) to install
the Qt interface plugin (necessary).
As each user:
5. When you run licq for the first time it will install all the necessary
files in ~/.licq.
6. You can import users from a number of other clients into Licq using
one of the conversion scripts found on the download section of the web
page or in the licq-data package.
</snip>
HTH and Good Luck!