window placement broken

i noticed, that my xchat ignores the saved window position (at startup and when restoring it from tray). even if the config is readonly. if it is writeable it gets instantly overwritten with the new value. im not sure if this is a bug in xchat or the wm (or anything else... im still new to desktop linux :)

im using ubuntu 8.10 with gnome/metacity without compiz or any 3d stuff.
i found out, that metacity does some kind of stupid window placement stuff... but id think, that the apps are able to override that?

i tested it with another testuser and it works ok there. i have a smiliar problem with audacious (http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=6447288). on the other hand it works for most other apps (vlc, claws-mail, opera).

i have the same problem with pidgin. it pops up in the top left corner all the time. so im migrating this question to metacity.