[webteam] XML files for public transports

[Sander Devrieze]

2008/4/13, Robert Martinez <mail at mray.de>:
>  Yet I'm a bit concerned that pushing it too far will make people think that
> it is a core feature of XMPP (and link it with xmpp if it does not work!).

It *is* a core feature of XMPP...well, sort of. Interoperability is
the core feature of XMPP. If we today say we are interoperable, tech
people will nod. Non-tech people will not. :o) Non-tech people base
their opinion on whether or not they can communicate with people on
different chat systems (open and closed). For non-tech people, an XMPP
client with poor transports integration like Psi (you need to read
docs) is less interoperable than MSN as this system allows them to
also chat with people on Yahoo. The same is true with multiprotocol
clients with poor XMPP support (compliancy issues, usability issues,
and so forth): in *their* eyes this multiprotocol client is more
interoperable than a very good XMPP client.

To solve this issue of stupid people not understanding why XMPP is the
most interoperable system out there, we need *extremely* good and
userfriendly basic interoperability to closed chat systems using
transports. With basic I don't mean "lots of features", instead I mean
"reliable support for key instant messaging features like messages and
presence".

>  Since the setup of a transport means giving away credentials about your
> account, you might not want to give those away to a random server so
> quickly. You would need to explain users where this data is going to be
> stored, this will be confusing.

I don't think most people care. Especially, as the transports in this
list are verified by the jabber.org  procedures!! Anyway, it is up to
the XMPP client how this should be implemented: instead of randomly
selecting a public transport themselves, they also can tease the user
with the choice to choose a server from a list.

>  In the end I thing the benefit will not outweigh the downside of the
> effort.

I think all this can be automated, right?

-- 
Mvg, Sander Devrieze.