[jdev] Limiting/ Max users in XMPP multi user chat rooms

[Robin Redeker]

On Thu, Jul 26, 2007 at 03:52:33PM -0700, ennova2005-jabber at yahoo.com wrote:
> 
> I cant seem to readily find this - does the XMPP protocol or a XEP
> provide for a way to limit the maximum number of people allowed to join
> a multi user chat room ?

http://www.xmpp.org/extensions/xep-0045.html

Example 137. Service Sends Configuration Form

   <field
      label='Maximum Number of Occupants'
      type='list-single'
      var='muc#roomconfig_maxusers'>

At least there is a field defined in the XEP for that purpose.
I don't know if MUC implementations support it.

I've looked at the code of mu-conference
( https://gna.org/projects/mu-conference/ ), it seems to support it.

> If this is server/implementation  specific, is there a module or patch
> for eJabberd that permits the same ?
> 
> A colleague has an ejabberd installation and they want to limit max
> attendance in a public chat room.
> 
> (A follow on question would be if a new room could be created such that
> overflow users could be sent to the new room and so on. It is a social
> chat room so it is not necessary that all users be in the same room
> etc)

That is an interesting question, I guess the problem will be to
convince clients that they are going into a different room than
they wanted to. For example some clients open the room windows
before they actually joined the room, so if you don't join the
room because it's too full the user might see in that window
'room full' or something like that.

I looked whether there is some protocol specified which could
redirect users to other rooms, but I couldn't find it in the XEP.

You could however, if you are not afraid of hacking some MUC
implementation, virtualize that room-split. I mean: everyone
joins the room a at conf.b.org but they maybe can't see each other
because the MUC seperates them.
But that would maybe be very confusing for the users :)


Robin