[JDEV] Slashdot Article
Julian Fitzell
julian at beta4.com
Sun Apr 14 06:22:48 CDT 2002
Julian Missig wrote:
> Julian Fitzell wrote:
[...]
>> Well, I see their point to some degree. If you switch to linux from
>> windows, you can't run all the same programs as you could before but
>> you can find alternatives and conversion programs, etc. The point of
>> instant messaging is to be able to communicate in real-time with your
>> friends. From people who see Jabber as simply an instant messenger
>> (or even those who see it first and foremost as an instant messenger),
>> you can't justify switching to Jabber without still being able to talk
>> to your friends - Jabber would be fundamentally failing at the task of
>> instant messaging since you would no longer be able to talk to any of
>> your friends.
>>
>> Add to that the fact that Jabber provides transports for the other
>> systems and you can understand why people see it as a sometimes-flaky
>> attempt to unite all the IM platforms.
>>
>> That said, obviously those of us who have switched to Jabber (and have
>> evntually switched as many of our friends as possible) see that there
>> are other advantages. But that is lost on someone who just needs to
>> be able to talk to the 100 people they have on their Yahoo roster, or
>> whatever.
>
>
> Except that I could find you quite a few people who refuse to use Word
> .doc files and all sorts of other proprietary formats, even when it
> hinders the ability "to communicate . . . with your friends." -- They
> find least common denominators or get their friends to use AbiWord for
> Windows or something like that. Jabber does have least common
> denominators -- you can use email or you can use the transports... there
> *are* servers out there which run half-decent transports -- just try to
> find one run by your circle of friends or something like that.
Totally agree. My comments really only make sense when taken as an
illustration of why a windows/linux metaphor for icq,etc/jabber isn't
quite right. It's just a matter of viewpoint - and those who see Jabber
as an IM program don't see it as meeting their needs as well as
trillian, etc.
> I think you're right when you say that Open Source advocates often see
> Jabber as just an attempt to unify, not an attempt to replace. We need
> to change that viewpoint.
Also agreed.
> Julian (the real one)
Julian (the... ethereal one?)
--
julian at beta4.com
Beta4 Productions (http://www.beta4.com)
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