[jdev] Re: [jabberd] Moderated chat...

[Peter Saint-Andre]

Comments at end, with flow reconstructed for readability and
cross-posted to JDEV since this is not a jabberd issue...

On Thu, Apr 21, 2005 at 11:28:30AM -0700, Bret Mogilefsky wrote:
> 
> Radu - Eosif Mihailescu wrote:
> >>>David Fellous wrote:
> >>>
> >>>>Hi,
> >>>>
> >>>>Do you know if it exists a plugin for moderated chat in Jabber ?
> >>>>
> >>>>Thabks !!
> >>>>
> >>>>David Fellous
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>The functionality you are referring to is fully included in 
> >>>mu-conference (and defined in associated JEPs).
> >>>
> >>>@Dexter
> >
> >David Fellous wrote:
> >
> >>Thanks Dexter,
> >>
> >>I thought to another function. By example, a moderator panel... And 
> >>the moderator can accept or not questions of the participants.
> >
> >
> >Oh, that is really interesting -- and I do not think it has been yet 
> >implemented (or proposed as a JEP, for that matter).
> >
> >@Dexter
> >
>
> I don't think this needs a JEP... MUC suffices.

Per-message moderation is explicitly out of scope for JEP-0045:

http://www.jabber.org/jeps/jep-0045.html#scope

> You do this by establishing conventions for the chat up front, eg 
> "Observers are to ask questions of the moderator via a private message", 
> whereupon the moderator either asks the question for them (Moderator: 
> Observer dfellous asks: "what about clustering?"), or grants them voice 
> long enough to ask their question (Moderator: dfellous, ask your question).
> 
> Similarly, if an Observer simply "wants the mike", he can privately 
> message the moderator asking to be made participant for a bit.  It's all 
> conventions, and the many variants are all well-supported by what's in 
> mu-conference... I can't see codifying them all individually and making 
> everyone happy.  Better instead to just put them in the subject line for 
> the room, or post them periodically, much as people do with IRC.

It could be done by convention, as you suggest, or through a protocol
extension to MUC (e.g., using Data Forms or some kind of message queue
that any admin can access and then approve/deny particular messages).
Personally I'd like to see how far conventions could be taken before a
protocol is needed. We've got enough protocols already, and at their
best I think protocols are a way to formalize social conventions anyway
(at least in this instance).

> PS: OTOH, a "MOTD" sent to room entrants might be a nice thing, if it 
> doesn't already exist in MUC (can't recall offhand)

Presumably that could be a room configuration thing. Also, the room
subject is often used as a kind of MOTD. What you're talking about is
almost a kind of README for the room, it seems to me.

Peter