The corresponding GNOME bug shows that it's intended behavior. I was misinterpreting what was happening -- the contacts were actually linked automatically because they were the same contact ID under different user accounts.
-- Can't unlink metacontact https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/668835 You received this bug notification because you are a member of Ubuntu Desktop Bugs, which is subscribed to empathy in ubuntu. -- desktop-bugs mailing list desktop-bugs@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/desktop-bugs
