[Standards] adding body as RECOMMENDED field for PEP-protocols?

Mon Jun 11 16:21:49 CDT 2007

Hi all,

It's been in my head for 3 weeks, so I thought I should ask this
before it runs out:

I think that eventing protocols, like User Tune, User Mood, User
Activity, and User Geolocation are pretty much the same: the user
emits some signal which interested parties could catch

BUT: only if their client is capable of catching such events.

What if I invent the 'User Playing' protocol, or 'User Watching', or
'User Browsing' protocol, should I make a plugin/patch for every major
client, by copying for example, User Tune handler, and rewrite two
lines to match my namespace?? For the sake of what?

Couldn't we just put a <body> or anything <human-readeable> field as a
recommendation to all these protocols just in the case the client does
not implement the given protocol, but otherwise wants to show their
users what happens now?

Of course, such body element's rendering is entirely based on the
SENDER's side, in case the receiver does not support such -when it
does, it can render it in its own will (next step would be defining
XSLTs, but that's a later story)

Disabling such events could be done either by namespace and/or
capability (I believe it would be worse if we always allow only the
smallest possible sets of features), in some cases it's just a
rendering issue (display-or-not).

I was told by stpeter that body element is a standard feature of PubSub.

Comments? Am I wrong perhaps?

Examples are below (only catcher side, link isn't correct in geoloc, I
hope it does not matter really):

<message
    from='stpeter at jabber.org'
    to='maineboy at jabber.org'>
  <event xmlns='http://jabber.org/protocol/pubsub#event'>
    <items node='http://jabber.org/protocol/tune'>
      <item id='bffe6584-0f9c-11dc-84ba-001143d5d5db'>
        <tune xmlns='http://jabber.org/protocol/tune'>
          <artist>Yes</artist>
          <length>686</length>
          <source>Yessongs</source>
          <title>Heart of the Sunrise</title>
          <track>3</track>
          <uri>http://www.yesworld.com/lyrics/Fragile.html#9</uri>
          <body>Yessongs - Heart of the Sunrise</body>
        </tune>
      </item>
    </items>
  </event>
</message>

<message from='portia at merchantofvenice.lit'
         to='bassanio at merchantofvenice.lit/home'>
  <event xmlns='http://jabber.org/protocol/pubsub#event'>
    <items node='http://jabber.org/protocol/geoloc'>
      <item id='a1s2d3f4g5h6bjeh936'>
        <geoloc xmlns='http://jabber.org/protocol/geoloc' xml:lang='en'>
          <country>Italy</country>
          <lat>45.44</lat>
          <locality>Venice</locality>
          <lon>12.33</lon>
          <body><a href=gmaps/lat=45.44&long=12.33>Italy, Venice</a></body>
        </geoloc>
      </item>
    </items>
  </event>
</message>

<message
    from='juliet at capulet.lit'
    to='romeo at montague.net'>
  <event xmlns='http://jabber.org/protocol/pubsub#event'>
    <items node='http://jabber.org/protocol/mood'>
      <item id='a475804a-0f9c-11dc-98a8-001143d5d5db'>
        <mood xmlns='http://jabber.org/protocol/mood'>
          <annoyed/>
          <text>curse my nurse!</text>
          <body>Annoyed (curse my nurse!)</body>
        </mood>
      </item>
    </items>
  </event>
</message>

-- 
Aadaam <aadaam at gmail.com>