On Mar 22, 2008, at 5:51 AM, Tobias Markmann wrote:
One question: Why couldn't these features have been build into XEP-0033 instead of writing a new XEP?
The intent of XEP-33 was to mirror the multi-address approach of SMTP. I actually took the original field names directly from RFC 2822, IIRC. Repeaters are more like a mailing list, if there was a standardized protocol for lists to be created on the fly. Seeing as how the intent was so different, it made sense to start from scratch.
Putting my implementor hat on, I really dislike it when specs have drastic changes that could have been put in a separate XEP (I'm looking at you, XEP-60), since it makes managing compatibility for shipping code quite difficult. Some guidelines I strive for in protocol design: Proper layers. Extend by extension. Break compatibility explicitly, never implicitly. Be willing to admit when something new is needed.
-- Joe Hildebrand
