Zugg Software :: View topic

Posted: Fri Jan 19, 2007 10:50 pm

One of the projects that I'll be working on this year is adding integrated chat features to CMUD.

I will obviously support the zChat and MUD Master (to the extent that it is possible) protocols.

However, now that IM protocols have matured a bit, it seems like time to revisit this situation and make the chat stuff in CMUD built upon existing standards.

From what I can see, there are two IM "standards". There is SIP, which is used by lots of big companies (Microsoft, IBM, Oracle, etc), and there is XMPP (Jabber) which is open source and now used by Google Talk.

Seems obvious to me that I should choose to support XMPP/Jabber. What do other people think about this?

It's also certainly possible that I could run my own Jabber server on zuggsoft.com to be used by registered CMUD users, where I could also run gateways for ICQ, AIM, MSN, etc. I don't know if their is a Jabber server for linux that supports private user authenication or not. I don't really want to run a full, open public server (especially not with all of the gateways...our server would probably get clobbered). But if there is some way to ensure that only CMUD users could access the server, then that would be a really cool system.

I'm still very early in my thinking on this. I see that there is an open-source Delphi client (Exodus), but I don't see any commercial XMPP components for Delphi yet.

But I'm really happy to see XMPP! Years ago when I wrote zChat there just wasn't any progress on *standard* IM protocols. Everyone seemed to be inventing their own. Imagine if email worked like this and you could only send email to people using the same software as you! Or imagine if you could only call someone on the phone if they used the same telephone company!

I really want to support the open source standard so that we can all use an IM system that interoperates. I think the Google Talk project should really help with this. We've got to get people to stop using those proprietary protocols like ICQ, AIM, etc.

Anyway, feel free to post your comments and suggestions about chat features in CMUD here.

Magician Joined: 09 Oct 2003 Posts: 459 Location: USA

I think Wildfire will do what you're wanting.

They've got a commercial (with all sorts of reporting and web-based add-on features) and a free version. Comes in Linux, Windows, and a couple other flavors.

http://www.igniterealtime.org/projects/wildfire/index.jsp

Wizard Joined: 14 Aug 2004 Posts: 1269

On the MUD that I play, ICQ seems to be the most commonly used IM protocol although it has been losing ground to MSN over the years. (These are really the only two protocols I have seen in any quantity on there.) Fortunately there are some clients that can talk several protocols, like Trillian, which is what I have been using recently. It can also talk IRC.

Magician Joined: 09 Oct 2003 Posts: 459 Location: USA

Aye, I've got Trillian Pro which also opens up Jabber/Google Talk as another of its protocols.

Posted: Sat Jan 20, 2007 1:10 am

I don't know how Trillian gets away with what it does. I also use Trillian also, and like it very much. But as a developer, I cannot find any way to legally use the ICQ protocol in my own software. Maybe Trillian licensed it or something. Or maybe they just hacked the protocols and haven't been sued. But that's not something I can do. I am not going to implement and proprietary protocols.

Remember, CMUD needs a way to send messages to and from the MUD command line itself. The Trillian Developer API stuff that I have seen was very expensive, and too expensive for me. The advantage of Jabber is that you can connect to a Gateway, which then allows you to access other networks, like ICQ, etc. So all I'd need to implement is the Jabber XMPP protocol and it should interoperate via gateways with the other systems.

Posted: Sat Jan 20, 2007 1:47 am

I thought ICQ was a subsidiary of AOL, and if they have permissions for AIM, ICQ would sorta come with.

Magician Joined: 09 Oct 2003 Posts: 459 Location: USA

Yeah, AOL bought ICQ around 2000-ish.

Wizard Joined: 10 Oct 2000 Posts: 1551 Location: Australia

I think ICQ is now using the "AIM protocol", at least when I last packet sniffed it seemed that way.

But I agree, go the open source path, it doesn't need to compete with MSN/ICQ, just run alongside CMUD for inter-MUD and non-logged chat.

It would be nice, perhaps, to be able to write triggers/aliases that works via the chat, so those who want to be naughty can trigger characters via a non-snoopable channel (rather than using tells).

Wizard Joined: 03 Mar 2001 Posts: 1127 Location: London

Definitely want the ability to trigger on certain chat from certain people. I'm sure that was one of the things I mentioned way back in the wish list, but it'd be very cool. Especially if I could then use Trillian to chat to my home CMUD client...

Novice Joined: 17 May 2001 Posts: 40 Location: Illinois

Meebo (http://www.meebo.com) is free software (don't believe it's open source -- yet) that implements every protocol Trillian does except IRC. All using AJAX in a browser.