This page discusses issues relating to the transfer from a web based chat to a [jabber] based chat. It is historical and for current information visit [Tcl Chatroom]. Any bugs about the [tkchat] client should be raised on sourceforge in the tcllib project under the app:tkchat category. Any problems with the chat can usually be discussed on the chat itself or on the #tcl channel on irc.freenode.net which is linked to the jabber chat room. '''How?''' We are using a Jabber server as the chatserver. We have also added jabber client support to [TkChat], this means that you can keep on using tkchat, including all of its features. ---- '''Requirements for the new chat''' We set ourselves a number of basic requirements for the new chat: * Must work for people with really nasty firewalls/proxies (only CONNECT on port 443, or worse, only HTTP) * Must have a log of what has been said, kept for a few days * Must work with tkchat and its commonly used features * Must allow the irc.freenode.net#Tcl chatters to join us * Preferably have a web interface from day one * It should allow us to extend tkchat to do interesting things, like the [World-wide whiteboard], without visual noise for other chatters. * Scale better: during the 2004 Tcl Conference, the chat almost died from having 30 chatters at the same time. ---- '''Why Jabber?''' We chose jabber for a number of reasons. The obvious other choice would have been IRC, but jabber seemed to match our requirements better. Reasons (in no particular order): * Network admins are not as hostile to jabber as they are to IRC; a lot more firewalls let jabber pass through. * The jabber protocols are IETF standards (yes, IRC too) * jabberd/mu-conference has built in chat logging capabilities * jabber allows us to keep nick coloring * the jabber protocol allows messages of arbitrary length (IRC is line oriented) ---- '''What about the IRC people?''' You come next - we have ijchain, which is similar to irc/azbridge, we will be running this from day 1. The next step is to make jabber users appear as true IRC users and vice-versa. We have some ideas, it will be done. Nobody will come second in the Tcl community! Jabber and IRC are a much closer match to one and another than chat.cgi and IRC were, so we can solve this rather elegantly. [DG] If [ijchain] is found to "not cut it", I can help with a new [xmpp]->[IRC] gateway using my irc_engine client extension for my [XiRCON-II] client. ---- !!!!!! %| [Category Internet] | [Category Tcler's Wiki] |% !!!!!!