well yeah, as then topic already says, i need an answer to this question
i think i've got it right that if i type ./configure --prefix=$HOME/progs/licq then my program(in this case, licq) would be installed in /home/dukey/progs/licq, right? ok, if this is the stuff, then what about uninstalling progs? because i downloaded the newest version of xmms and it seems to be already installed. so, do i uninstall it with "make uninstall"? and when i do this, do i have to install the new xmms in some shared folder or can i safely install it in my home directory?

(1)
-- prefix usualy defines a install basedir.
If you define prefix as /home/me/progs make install will install the
- binaries in /home/me/progs/bin
- libraries in /home/me/progs/lib
- manpages in /home/me/progs/share/man
- config in /home/me/progs/etc (not allways though)
- ...(you get the pucture)

(2)
not all tarballs implement the make uninstall option correctly,
There are rpogramms who monitor the make install step.
Otherwise I have read that an "make -n install" gives you a list with all file opperation a make install would do.

(3)
If your PATH variable is set that your /home/me/progs/bin dir is before other dirs ( /bin, /usr/bin) then it should work...

If you ./configure --prefix=$HOME/progs/licq, then all licq files are under this prefix. So provided ONLY licq files are there, uninstalling licq is as easy as:
rm -rf $HOME/progs/licq

That's actually roughly the way I handle all programs I install/uninstall. I suggest you take a look at the GoboLinux distribution; it may give you ideas; or you may even use it

Yves.

As for uninstalling you can use Checkinstall - it enables you to install any new software as a slackware package and makes it easily uninstallable using removepkg. Once you have checkinstall on your system, all you have to do is type "checkinstall" instead of the usual "make install" after compiling. This is useful since not all makefiles have uninstallation routines written in and it can be a pain to hunt around for installed bits when you want to get rid of a program.
Cheers!
-geomatt