Well, this was what I thought I wanted, so I ticked it, and restarted.
It did exactly what it says.
It opened no UI whatsoever!
So how do I make a call, open a chat, add a contact, or get the window back?

I eventually resorted to killing the process, and hacking the xml to 'untick' the box.
I'd quite like it to run windowless in the background (so I'm available if anyone wants to call me), but obviously I need a button or something to click when I want to place a call.
Am I missing something obvious??

I'd also like skype video, which I expect will be closely followed by free beer, ferrari, ...

Chris

I use KDE and have an icon that sits in the "system tray". Left-clicking on this icon opens or closes the window.

Jim

I got the same thing for about 30 minutes on my Gnome panel before it all decided it was too hard. So much for freedesktop.org compliance, but never mind. I guess there are more important things that need fixing.

Now I just settle for leaving the UI open in the same workspace where I know I can find it...