Pidgin is not fetching messages

[Ethan Hogue]

Hello,

I'm having a problem with Pidgin (maybe).  The only time that I can get
new IMs from facebook, gtalk, etc. is when Pidgin is open and connected.
For instance, if my computer is off when a friend sends me a message,
then I turn on my computer and open pidgin, there's no message there.
It's very annoying to have to open the website to check if I've received
new messages.  Is this by design?  Am I doing something wrong?