[Members] Civil Disobedience

[Kevin Smith]

On 24 Aug 2005, at 14:36, Nolan Eakins wrote:
> Matthew A. Miller wrote:
> | Oh, and my opinion:
> |
> | This is way too harsh way too soon. Give Google some time to get  
> their
> | stuff figured out before you demonize them.
>
> Probably, especially since it was only birthed a few hours ago. I was
> just reflecting on how we can communicate and organize faster than we
> can get work done.


We need to deal with this very carefully in my opinion. We have a  
*lot* to gain with Google Talk, if we can negotiate with google.  
We've got a lot to lose if we screw up and find ourselves with a  
fragmented xmpp 'network' too.

Google have a very valid concern, I think, wrt: spam. XMPP/Jabber is  
in a worse position for dealing with spam than msn etc in many ways.  
Our distributed nature makes us appear to be another smtp. Now, I  
want google to open s2s as much as the next guy/gal so lets see if we  
can reach an agreement. Google might *want* to open s2s, those are  
the noises they're making so we should at least consider the  
possibility that they're true :) If they want to deal with spam, I'd  
be interested to hear what they have to say. IMO the JSF MUST speak  
to google and see what they think. Google SHOULD say that they will  
allow s2s if we address potential problems with spam and MAY have  
suggestions as well. Hell, if google would like to suggest ways of us  
stopping xmpp spam before it really starts, I'd be willing to listen.  
The JSF MUST NOT throw its weight around before we've established the  
state of the union.

So; do we need an extra-special JSF meeting to decide to ask google  
what they think? I don't think it's necessary just for PSA to send an  
email asking what their thoughts are, but if it is, let's get the  
ball rolling.

Let's be calm and rational, without losing sight of the tremendous  
opportunity this presents.

/K

--
Kevin Smith
Psi Jabber client maintainer (http://psi.affinix.com/)
Taekwon-do club captain (outgoing), University of Exeter
Postgraduate Research Student, Computer Science, University Of Exeter