Jabber Was Announced on Slashdot 25 Years Ago This Week

25 years ago, Slashdot's CmdrTaco posted an announcement from Slashdot reader #257. 'Jabber is a new project I recently started to create a complete open-source platform for Instant Messaging with transparent communication to other Instant Messaging systems (ICQ, AIM, etc).

'Most of the initial design and protocol work is done, as well as a working server and a few test clients.'

You can find the rest of the story on Wikipedia. 'Its major outcome proved to be the development of the XMPP protocol.' ('Based on XML, it enables the near-real-time exchange of structured data between two or more network entities.')
Originally developed by the open-source community, the protocols were formalized as an approved instant messaging standard in 2004 and have been continuously developed with new extensions and features... In addition to these core protocols standardized at the IETF, the XMPP Standards Foundation (formerly the Jabber Software Foundation) is active in developing open XMPP extensions...

XMPP features such as federation across domains, publish/subscribe, authentication and its security even for mobile endpoints are being used to implement the Internet of Things.

'Designed to be extensible, the protocol offers a multitude of applications beyond traditional IM in the broader realm of message-oriented middleware, including signalling for VoIP, video, file transfer, gaming and other uses...'

Slashdot reader #257 turned out to be Jeremie Miller (who at the time was just 23 years old). And according to his own page on Wikipedia, 'Currently, Miller sits on the board of directors for Bluesky Social, a social media platform.'

Read more of this story at Slashdot.