Dear Council Members,
For years now we have two competing standards https://xmpp.org/extensions/xep-0447.html and https://xmpp.org/extensions/xep-0385.html and it leads to confusion and additional work for new implementers and prevents in some cases implementations at all.
According to the xmpp.org page both XEPs have each 6 implementations.
I would suggest to issue a last call to gather feedback.
After all feedback is addressed council should advances only one.
Regards
Philipp
The XMPP Extensions Editor has received a proposal for a new XEP.
Title: Explicit Mentions
Abstract:
This specification defines a way to explicitly mention a person or
groups of people.
URL: https://xmpp.org/extensions/inbox/explicit-mentions.html
The Council will decide in the next two weeks whether to accept this
proposal as an official XEP.
Hi all,
At the recent Summit, we had a long and nuanced discussion about the state
of the XMPP RFCs and whether there is value in updating parts of them,
potentially through the IETF, to better reflect how XMPP is actually
implemented and used today.
To be clear upfront: This is not a proposal to start an IETF working group,
nor a commitment to produce new RFCs. The discussion at the Summit surfaced
enough open questions that it seems worthwhile to first have a focused
scoping and feasibility discussion.
Some of the motivations that were raised:
- The current RFCs do not describe a baseline that results in
interoperable modern implementations
- Discoverability for new implementers is difficult (knowing which XEPs
are "essential")
- The IM landscape has changed significantly since the original RFCs
- External review and feedback could be valuable
- There may be marketing and positioning benefits, but these are
secondary
At the same time, many concerns were raised:
- The sheer amount of work required, and whether we realistically have
the manpower
- Risk of scope creep (e.g., baking too much into RFCs)
- Loss of flexibility compared to the XEP process
- Fear of starting something we cannot finish
- Unclear interaction with compliance suites and the "living standard"
nature of XMPP
- Potential pushback or distraction from other IETF efforts (e.g., MIMI)
Questions that seem worth discussing at this stage:
- Is it useful to think about updating some RFCs (e.g., core, IM), while
leaving the rest to XEPs?
- What would be clearly in-scope vs out-of-scope?
- Is there enough interest and capacity to justify exploring this
further?
- What would be a sensible first step that does not overcommit us?
If you were at the Summit and felt strongly one way or the other, it would
be great to hear your perspective here. If you weren't, fresh viewpoints
are equally welcome.
The goal of this thread is simply to assess whether this topic is worth
pursuing further, and if so, in what very limited and realistic form.
Kind regards,
Guus
The XMPP Extensions Editor has received a proposal for a new XEP.
Title: Message Archive Management: Trim Command
Abstract:
This specification describes how a client can request "trimming" of an
archive
URL: https://xmpp.org/extensions/inbox/xep-mam-trimming.html
The Council will decide in the next two weeks whether to accept this
proposal as an official XEP.
Version 0.1.0 of XEP-0513 (Explicit Mentions) has been released.
Abstract:
This specification defines a way to explicitly mention a person or
groups of people.
Changelog:
Accepted as Experimental by council vote on 2026-03-31 (dg)
URL: https://xmpp.org/extensions/xep-0513.html
Note: The information in the XEP list at https://xmpp.org/extensions/
is updated by a separate automated process and may be stale at the
time this email is sent. The XEP documents linked herein are up-to-
date.
Version 5.6.7.8 of XEP-0512 (XMPP as Interpretive Dance) has been
released.
Abstract:
This document defines a method for representing XMPP communications
through the medium of interpretive dance. By mapping core protocol
elements to specific physical movements, it allows expressive, low-
bandwidth, and audience-friendly implementations of XMPP suitable for
artistic performances, theatrical demonstrations, and deeply confusing
hackathons.
Changelog:
Initial published version. (gdk)
URL: https://xmpp.org/extensions/xep-0512.html
Note: The information in the XEP list at https://xmpp.org/extensions/
is updated by a separate automated process and may be stale at the
time this email is sent. The XEP documents linked herein are up-to-
date.