[JDEV] Best way to drive Jabber adoption?

[Paul Curtis]

Jabber religion aside for a moment ....

I just went through this very excerise ... getting the normal user to 
use Jabber. We have some users who have been exposed to IM and others 
that have not. Here's a suggested approach that will probably address 
most everyones concerns. However, it will require some help from the 
client developers to achieve a complete solution.

1. Pick up on Iain's idea of "jabber.net" ... however without the 
"consumer IM service" part. Rather than a single server and service 
(with all its attendent maintenance and bandwidth and hardware,) why not 
use a "three clicks to Jabber" approach. Use "jabber.net" as the "3 
click to Jabber" registration/download site.

2. Build jabber.net with one goal in mind: to help brand new users step 
through the process of registering, getting a client, and logging in. 
For example, the site might flow like this:

   * click here to start
   * Pick a server near you
   * Pick a client (here's some thumb-szied screen shots)
   * Pick a user name and password
   * One click install, and the client retrieves the info
     entered in the previous step
   * Begin Jabbering.

3. This approach solves several problems. First, there would be no need 
for a single "consumer service" ... and uses the distributed nature of 
Jabber to our advantage. Second, it showcases several clients. Third, 
with a little effort on the part of the client developers, the 
information the new user entered on the web site could automatically 
populate the client. Fourth, everything is done, and it's one click to go.

This means that: 1. the server admins have to agree to do this; 2. The 
client developers needs to come up with a way to make one click 
installers and "preloaded" user information; 3. We, as a community, have 
to support this type of effort by watching chat rooms and answering 
questions.

 From a "Jabber religion" point of view, this appraoch does not really 
step on the "jabber way" but rather enhances it for a select audience. 
The technical parts, such as available transports on servers, client 
installers, etc. can be agreed upon by the client devs and server 
admins. No one is stuck running this, and everyone benefits.

Lastly, having spent the last three weeks in the 
jabber at conference.jabber.org room, I have come to realize that this 
step-by-step approach would remove the current barriers to entry. If we 
can do that, and provide the above service to get people started, we can 
build a community that uses the beneficial parts of Jabber (distributed 
servers, transports, etc.) and still provides a "polished" look to Jabber.

Paul