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      XMPP@home - 9 June 2020

      Stefan · pubsub.movim.eu / xmpp · Thursday, 11 June, 2020 - 13:07 · 5 minutes

    Welcome to the XMPP newsletter covering the month of May 2020.

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    Newsletter translations

    Translations of the XMPP Newsletter will be released here:

    Software releases

    It has been almost a year since the release of Gajim 1.1.3. A year of developing new features, cleaning up old code, and fixing bugs. This month, it is finally the time for a first beta release of Gajim 1.2. Highlights are (amongst others): improved group chat system, completely rewritten network code, and a new account creation assistant. But there is much more to discover.

    Log in: Gajim 1.2.0-beta1 log in

    Sign up: Gajim 1.2.0-beta1 sign up

    Create account: Gajim 1.2.0-beta1 create account

    Clients and applications

    Gajim Development News May 2020: New account badges and the great plugin overhaul. In preparation of the upcoming 1.2 release, many plugins have been revisited. Check out the new file preview!

    Goffi released Salut à Toi progress note for calendar week 21!

    Poezio released 0.13.0 and 0.13.1 which now requires python 3.7. These versions bring Poezio into the club of OMEMO supporting clients and also enable HTTP upload via dedicated plugins. Check the full changelog to look at all the improvements of these versions.

    Biboumi, the XMPP/IRC gateway, was released in version 0.8.5, fixing compilation issues with GCC 10.

    The python based XMPP automatic file sender Errol has been updated to v2.0.1 which modernizes its async I/O calls and adds more privacy. By moving from 'aionotify' to the better maintained 'watchdog', Errol theoretically extends its support (from Linux only) to Windows, Mac OS X and FreeBSD.

    Services

    blabber.im now supports IPv6. The service operators created an invitation link which works for their server but also for every other ID. If you moved to an XMPP based chat client, you can now conveniently put this link into the status of your previous non-XMPP chat clients. This link offers your contacts all the necessary infos to be able to reach you and (if they want to) follow you into the XMPP world.

    Jabber.org

    jabber.org migrates its server to Prosody. Stay informed!

    yaxim.org rolled out new anti-spam measures. You may be interested in the 'The Jabber Spam Fighting Manifesto', too.

    Libraries

    The XMPP library for Python 3.7+, Slixmpp, was updated to version 1.5.0, with minor releases 1.5.1 and 1.5.2. The changelog shows improvements of numerous XEPs and preliminary support for OMEMO.

    Quite some time has past since the last official Smack release. Now there are some very early alpha releases of Smack 4.4. Among additional support for more than a dozen new XEPs, the new release will contain a new architecture for modular transports, as well as a modified API that applies the builder pattern to stanza types. A date for the final release is not yet known, but it is now time to give feedback to make sure to get your changes into the next stable Smack release! Read the detailed list of changes.

    Google Summer of Code

    Since beginning of May students all over the world are working on many open-source projects within the Google Summer of Code Season. We would like to introduce the students who work on GSoC XMPP projects and share their first blog posts:

    Aditya Borikar is working on WebSocket support for Smack. Blog history: - Chapter 1: Handshake - Chapter 2: Modular Shift

    Anmol (wolfie_anmol) is working on implementing Real Time Texting in Dino (XEP-0301). Blog history: - GSoC 2020 begins - Introduction to RTT - RTT stanza and message comparision

    Thank you for joining GSoC XMPP projects and keep up the good work! To be continued.

    Extensions and specifications

    Updated

    • Version 0.4.0 of XEP-0414 (Cryptographic Hash Function Recommendations for XMPP)

      • Make Blake2b-256 SHOULD and Blake2b 512 MUST (rion)
    • Version 1.1.0 of XEP-0402 (PEP Native Bookmarks) -Add schema + other editorial changes (mb)

    • Version 0.5.0 of XEP-0389 (Extensible In-Band Registration) -Overhaul document for readability. -Add JID and username information to success element. -Always require disco/caps feature. -More examples. (ssw)

    • Version 1.3.0 of XEP-0068 (Field Standardization for Data Forms) -Clarify field type handling of the FORM_TYPE field on submission forms. (fs)

    • Version 0.2.0 of XEP-0436 (MUC presence versioning) -Incorporate feedback from the standards list -Create a separate tag for sending the version number. -Include a reset token. -Remove the "Additional measures" section and merge parts into "Requirements". -Mandate that presences are always sent for affiliated users. (jcb)

    • Version 0.2.0 of XEP-0437 (Room Activity Indicators) -Assign urn:xmpp namespace instead of xmpp:prosody.im namespace (this was missed during acceptance) (XEP Editor (jsc))

    • Version 0.1.1 of XEP-0438 (Best practices for password hashing and storage) -Fix reference to external document (ssw)

    • Version 1.2.0 of XEP-0167 (Jingle RTP Sessions) -Introduce element to signal the ability to multiplex RTP Data and Control Packets. (dg)

    • Version 2.10.0 of XEP-0004 (Data Forms) -Clarify that fields which are not required may be omitted on submission. (fs)

    Proposed

    The XMPP Extensions Editor has received proposals for new XEPs.

    Miscellaneous

    Experimental

    • Version 0.1.0 of XEP-0439 (Quick Response) -Quickly respond to automated messages. -Accepted by vote of Council on 2020-04-22. (XEP Editor (jsc))

    • Version 0.1.0 of XEP-0437 (Room Activity Indicators) -This specification describes a lightweight mechanism for activity notifications in MUCs -Accepted by vote of Council on 2020-04-15. (XEP Editor (jsc))

    • Version 0.1.0 of XEP-0436 (MUC presence versioning) -This specification defines a versioning mechanism which reduces the amount of presence traffic in a XEP-0045 MUC -Accepted by vote of Council on 2020-04-01. (XEP Editor (jsc))

    Draft

    • Version 1.0.0 of XEP-0320 (Use of DTLS-SRTP in Jingle Sessions) -Move to Draft as per Council vote from 2020-05-20. (XEP Editor (jsc))

    • Version 1.0.0 of XEP-0339 (Source-Specific Media Attributes in Jingle) -Move to Draft as per Council vote from 2020-05-20. (XEP Editor (jsc))

    Thanks all!

    This XMPP Newsletter is produced collaboratively by the community.

    Thanks to emus, nyco, pmaziere, SouL, vanitasvitae, wurstsalat3000 for their help in creating it!

    Spread the news!

    Please share the news on "social networks":

    License

    This newsletter is published under CC BY-SA license.

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      Collaboration over the Internet! - 7 May 2020

      Stefan · pubsub.movim.eu / xmpp · Tuesday, 9 June, 2020 - 16:22 edit · 4 minutes

    Intro

    Welcome to the XMPP newsletter covering the month of April 2020.

    We are always happy about contributors. Just join the discussion in our Comm-Team group chat (MUC) and help us sustain this as a community effort. The drafting process for each newsletter is fully documented. Furthermore, we started drafting each new version in the XSF Github repository - feel free to add information by yourself.

    Newsletter translations

    The translations of the XMPP Newsletter will be released here:

    XMPP Standards Foundation

    The XSF is renewing its sponsorship for 2020. Many thanks to everyone supporting and sponsoring us in 2019. We would be happy if your organization would also consider sponsoring in 2020. If your organization considers sponsoring for the first time, our mission may interest you as well.

    Alexander Gnauck published the Membership Applications Q2 2020. Applications are welcome!

    Articles

    Pasis, maintainer of libstrophe and contributor to profanity, wrote about using the XML console in profanity for debugging.

    Jan Cieśla from MongooseIM wrote a blog post about how they drive their project by the metrics.

    Can you believe it? Zoom uses XMPP for its chat - cool! Vulnerability - not cool.

    MattJ (Prosody developer) mentioned that, according to Debian popcon statistics, the Prosody installations have doubled since march.

    Software releases

    Kaidan 0.5.0 - Bam! Check out their new onboarding!

    Let's sum it up like this: Remove OTR + Rework conference and contact details + Show PDF previews + Add title for audio files = Pix-Art Messenger 2.3.5

    Four letters for Windows 10 Users: UWPX 0.25.0 is online with Windows10X support and a push server. So give it a try!

    Monal continues the fight on the iOS front: included in the upcoming beta are support for geo-location messages, TLS ALPN support and improvements on OpenFire push notifications as well as many fixes with smack.

    Wow - no late April joke - Conversations released version 2.8.0 adding audio and video calls! The German IT magazine heise.de wrote an article about the new A/V-Feature.

    Servers

    Guus der Kinderen, from the Ignite Realtime Foundation Board, wrote a short article on how to setup a STUN and TURN service in Openfire for audio and video calls. The improvements for push notifications on iOS (see the post above for Monal) found their way into the Push Notification Openfire plugin 0.7.0.

    Clients and applications

    The maintainer of libstrophe, Pasis, and contributor to Profanity, created a tool named xmppconsole which sends raw XMPP stanzas over an XMPP connection and displays the XMPP stream. Main purpose is to study XEPs and debug servers implementation. The tool is under development. The final version will support both GTK UI and ncurses UI. In their blog, they also explained how to easier contribute commits to their repository, read on.

    Dino now features Last Message Correction for all the typos you made and the regrets you have. And also voice handling in moderated groups

    Gajim Development News April 2020: Multi-account handling improvements and polishing for the release of Gajim 1.2. One year after the last release, a beta for the upcoming version is just around the corner.

    Services

    yax.im updated their servers from prosody 0.11 to prosody-trunk. Read more about the changes here. Unfortunately with a first outage :(

    On April 25th, observe.jabber.network was launched into public beta. It offers free monitoring-as-a-service for federated XMPP domains, checking connectivity via c2s and s2s, as well as optionally in-band registration and federated XMPP pings. Application details and more information are available on the website.

    Process One released ejabberd 20.04. Highlight: Support for XEP-0215 External Service Discovery which improves support for audio and video calls. The mod_stun_disco module allows XMPP clients to discover STUN/TURN services.

    Libraries

    StropheJS, a XMPP library for JavaScript, has been released in version 1.3.5 with bugfixes and removal of support for SASL DIGEST-MD5 auth.

    Extensions and specifications

    Updated

    • Version 1.18.0 of XEP-0060 (Publish-Subscribe)

      • Properly specifiy that an empty is invalid on publish. (jsc)
    • Version 0.4 of XEP-0333 (Chat Markers)

      • Add notes about usage within MUCs. (mw)
    • Version 0.4.0 of XEP-0389 (Extensible In-Band Registration)

      • Add OOB challenge type.
      • Add IQ query for flows.
      • Add a glossary.
      • Make challenge listings more consistent.
      • Cleanup and expand the registrar considerations section.
      • Clarifications and typo fixes throughout the text. (ssw)

    Proposed

    The XMPP Extensions Editor has received proposals for new XEPs.

    Miscellaneous

    Experimental

    • Version 0.1.0 of XEP-0435 (Reminders)
      • This specification provides a way to set up reminders.
      • Accepted by vote of Council on 2020-03-04. (XEP Editor (jsc))

    Draft

    • Version 1.0.0 of XEP-0402 (PEP Native Bookmarks)
      • Abstract: This specification defines a syntax and storage profile for keeping a list of chatroom bookmarks on the server.
      • Changelog: Advanced to Draft per Council vote from 2020-03-04. (XEP Editor (jsc))

    Thanks all!

    This XMPP Newsletter is produced collaboratively by the community.

    Thanks to Aleja, emus, horazont, jcbrand, mdosch, pep., pmaziere, Sven, wurstsalat3000 for their help in creating it!

    Please share the news on "social networks":

    License

    This newsletter is published under the CC BY-SA license

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