XEP-0408: Mediated Information eXchange (MIX): Co-existence with MUC

Abstract
This document defines an extension to Mediated Information eXchange (MIX) specified in XEP-0369. It specifies how MIX and MUC can be operated together.
Authors
  • Kevin Smith
  • Steve Kille
Copyright
© 2018 – 2021 XMPP Standards Foundation. SEE LEGAL NOTICES.
Status

Deferred

WARNING: This document has been automatically Deferred after 12 months of inactivity in its previous Experimental state. Implementation of the protocol described herein is not recommended for production systems. However, exploratory implementations are encouraged to resume the standards process.
Type
Standards Track
Version
0.2.0 (2021-03-09)
Document Lifecycle
  1. Experimental
  2. Deferred
  3. Proposed
  4. Stable
  5. Final

1. Introduction

The Mediated Information eXchange (MIX) protocol framework and core capabilities are specified in Mediated Information eXchange (MIX) (XEP-0369) [1] (MIX-CORE). MIX can be used independently of Multi-User Chat (XEP-0045) [2] (MUC).

It may be desirable to operate a service that provides MIX and MUC together. This specification specifies three options for achieving this.

2. Supporting MIX and MUC together

If both MIX and MUC are implemented, three approaches are noted.

  1. Entirely separate MIX and MUC implementation, with MIX and MUC using separate domains and MIX channels being completely separate from MUC rooms.
  2. Fully integrated MIX and MUC implementation, with MIX and MUC sharing a single domain and rooms/channels equivalent.
  3. Partially integrated MIX and MUC implementation, with MIX and MUC using separate domains, but all rooms/channel are common. This means that each MIX channel will have MUC room of the same name and same participants.

The fully integrated approach would be transparent to clients. The following example shows how a service that supports MIX and MUC in a fully integrated manner would respond following the specification of Mediated Information eXchange (MIX) (XEP-0369) [1]:

Example 1. Client uses Disco to show fully integrated MIX and MUC support
<iq from='hag66@shakespeare.example/UUID-c8y/1573'
    id='lx09df27'
    to='mix.shakespeare.example'
    type='get'>
  <query xmlns='http://jabber.org/protocol/disco#info'>
</iq>

<iq from='mix.shakespeare.example'
    id='lx09df27'
    to='hag66@shakespeare.example/UUID-c8y/1573'
    type='result'>
  <query xmlns='http://jabber.org/protocol/disco#info'>
    <identity
        category='conference'
        name='Shakespearean Chat Service'
        type='text'/>
    <feature var='urn:xmpp:mix:core:1'/>
    <feature var='http://jabber.org/protocol/muc'/>
    <feature var='urn:xmpp:mix:core:1#searchable'/>
  </query>
</iq>

In the fully integrated service item discovery on the MIX/MUC service determines a list of channels. The protocol used for this is the same in MUC and MIX. Discovery actions on a channel in MIX MUST use 'node=mix' attribute in the discovery which will lead to the return of MIX channel specific information, as mandated for this discovery in Mediated Information eXchange (MIX) (XEP-0369) [1]. If is not set, MUC room specific information is returned.

For the partially integrated service, MIX servers will reference the associated MUC server and MUC servers will reference the associated MIX service. This will allow a client that only support MUC or only supports MIX to find the right server if it is given a reference to the other one. For a client that supports both MUC and MIX, it will enable the client to select its preferred service. For a MIX client, it will also be useful to know the MUC service, so that this information can be shared with a MUC client invitation. The following example shows how a MIX server identifies the associated MUC server. Note that MUC MUST NOT be advertized as a feature:

Example 2. Client uses Disco to find MUC server assocated with MIX server
<iq from='hag66@shakespeare.example/UUID-c8y/1573'
    id='lx09df27'
    to='mix.shakespeare.example'
    type='get'>
  <query xmlns='http://jabber.org/protocol/disco#info'/>
</iq>

<iq from='mix.shakespeare.example'
    id='lx09df27'
    to='hag66@shakespeare.example/UUID-c8y/1573'
    type='result'>
  <query xmlns='http://jabber.org/protocol/disco#info'>
    <identity
        category='conference'
        name='Shakespearean Chat Service'
        type='text'/>
    <feature var='urn:xmpp:mix:core:1'/>
    <x xmlns='jabber:x:data' type='result'>
      <field var='FORM_TYPE' type='hidden'>
        <value>urn:xmpp:mix:muc:0#muc-mirror</value>
      </field>
      <field var='muc-mirror'
             type='jid-single'
             label='Location of MUC mirror service'>
        <value>chat.shakespeare.example</value>
      </field>
    </x>
  </query>
</iq>

The result is returned in an extended disco results in a form whose type value is 'urn:xmpp:mix:muc:0#muc-mirror'. The field with var='muc-mirror' is the value of which is the mirrored MUC domain's JID.

Similarly, a MUC service can advertise an associated MIX doming. The following example shows discovery of a MUC domain. Note that MIX MUST NOT be advertized as a feature

Example 3. Client uses Disco to find MIX server assocated with MUC server
<iq from='hag66@shakespeare.example/UUID-c8y/1573'
    id='lx09df27'
    to='mix.shakespeare.example'
    type='get'>
  <query xmlns='http://jabber.org/protocol/disco#info'>
</iq>

<iq from='chat.shakespeare.example'
    id='lx09df27'
    to='hag66@shakespeare.example/UUID-c8y/1573'
    type='result'>
  <query xmlns='http://jabber.org/protocol/disco#info'>
    <identity
        category='conference'
        name='Shakespearean Chat Service'
        type='text'/>
    <feature var='http://jabber.org/protocol/muc'/>
    <x xmlns='jabber:x:data' type='result'>
      <field var='FORM_TYPE' type='hidden'>
        <value>urn:xmpp:mix:muc:0#mix-mirror</value>
      </field>
      <field var='mix-mirror'
             type='jid-single'
             label='Location of MUC mirror service'>
        <value>mix.shakespeare.example</value>
      </field>
    </x>
  </query>
</iq>

The result is returned in an extended disco results in a form whose type value is 'urn:xmpp:mix:muc:0#mux-mirror'. The field with var='mix-mirror' is the value of which is the mirrored MIX domain's JID.

2.1 Choosing Which Invite to Send

Where a client supports MUC and MIX and has determined that for a channel that the server also supports a MUC room, the client has a choice as to which type of invite to send. This SHOULD be done by determining if the client support MIX using the mechanism specified in Mediated Information eXchange (MIX) (XEP-0369) [1]. If the client supports MIX a MIX invite SHOULD be sent.

3. Internationalization Considerations

See considerations in Mediated Information eXchange (MIX) (XEP-0369) [1].

4. Security Considerations

See considerations in Mediated Information eXchange (MIX) (XEP-0369) [1].

When converting a 1:1 conversation to a channel there is potential to expose sensitive information and to present invalid information.

5. IANA Considerations

None.

6. XMPP Registrar Considerations

The urn:xmpp:mix namespace needs to be registered.

7. XML Schema

To be supplied when MIX progresses to proposed standard.

8. Acknowledgements

See Mediated Information eXchange (MIX) (XEP-0369) [1] for a list of contributors to the MIX Family of specifications.


Appendices

Appendix A: Document Information

Series
XEP
Number
0408
Publisher
XMPP Standards Foundation
Status
Deferred
Type
Standards Track
Version
0.2.0
Last Updated
2021-03-09
Approving Body
XMPP Council
Dependencies
XMPP Core, XMPP IM, XEP-0004, XEP-0030, XEP-0054, XEP-0060, XEP-0084, XEP-0128, XEP-0198, XEP-0292, XEP-0297, XEP-0313, XEP-0372
Supersedes
None
Superseded By
None
Short Name
MIX-MUC
Source Control
HTML

This document in other formats: XML  PDF

Appendix B: Author Information

Kevin Smith
Email
kevin.smith@isode.com
JabberID
kevin.smith@isode.com
Steve Kille
Email
steve.kille@isode.com
JabberID
steve.kille@isode.com

Copyright

This XMPP Extension Protocol is copyright © 1999 – 2024 by the XMPP Standards Foundation (XSF).

Permissions

Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this specification (the "Specification"), to make use of the Specification without restriction, including without limitation the rights to implement the Specification in a software program, deploy the Specification in a network service, and copy, modify, merge, publish, translate, distribute, sublicense, or sell copies of the Specification, and to permit persons to whom the Specification is furnished to do so, subject to the condition that the foregoing copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all copies or substantial portions of the Specification. Unless separate permission is granted, modified works that are redistributed shall not contain misleading information regarding the authors, title, number, or publisher of the Specification, and shall not claim endorsement of the modified works by the authors, any organization or project to which the authors belong, or the XMPP Standards Foundation.

Disclaimer of Warranty

## NOTE WELL: This Specification is provided on an "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, express or implied, including, without limitation, any warranties or conditions of TITLE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, MERCHANTABILITY, or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. ##

Limitation of Liability

In no event and under no legal theory, whether in tort (including negligence), contract, or otherwise, unless required by applicable law (such as deliberate and grossly negligent acts) or agreed to in writing, shall the XMPP Standards Foundation or any author of this Specification be liable for damages, including any direct, indirect, special, incidental, or consequential damages of any character arising from, out of, or in connection with the Specification or the implementation, deployment, or other use of the Specification (including but not limited to damages for loss of goodwill, work stoppage, computer failure or malfunction, or any and all other commercial damages or losses), even if the XMPP Standards Foundation or such author has been advised of the possibility of such damages.

IPR Conformance

This XMPP Extension Protocol has been contributed in full conformance with the XSF's Intellectual Property Rights Policy (a copy of which can be found at <https://xmpp.org/about/xsf/ipr-policy> or obtained by writing to XMPP Standards Foundation, P.O. Box 787, Parker, CO 80134 USA).

Visual Presentation

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Appendix D: Relation to XMPP

The Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP) is defined in the XMPP Core (RFC 6120) and XMPP IM (RFC 6121) specifications contributed by the XMPP Standards Foundation to the Internet Standards Process, which is managed by the Internet Engineering Task Force in accordance with RFC 2026. Any protocol defined in this document has been developed outside the Internet Standards Process and is to be understood as an extension to XMPP rather than as an evolution, development, or modification of XMPP itself.

Appendix E: Discussion Venue

The primary venue for discussion of XMPP Extension Protocols is the <standards@xmpp.org> discussion list.

Discussion on other xmpp.org discussion lists might also be appropriate; see <https://xmpp.org/community/> for a complete list.

Errata can be sent to <editor@xmpp.org>.

Appendix F: Requirements Conformance

The following requirements keywords as used in this document are to be interpreted as described in RFC 2119: "MUST", "SHALL", "REQUIRED"; "MUST NOT", "SHALL NOT"; "SHOULD", "RECOMMENDED"; "SHOULD NOT", "NOT RECOMMENDED"; "MAY", "OPTIONAL".

Appendix G: Notes

1. XEP-0369: Mediated Information eXchange (MIX) <https://xmpp.org/extensions/xep-0369.html>.

2. XEP-0045: Multi-User Chat <https://xmpp.org/extensions/xep-0045.html>.

Appendix H: Revision History

Note: Older versions of this specification might be available at https://xmpp.org/extensions/attic/

  1. Version 0.2.0 (2021-03-09)

    Fix reference to MIX-CORE namespaces

    @mathieui
  2. Version 0.1.1 (2020-12-01)
    Fix minor XML formatting issues
    gh/@mathieui
  3. Version 0.1.0 (2018-05-21)

    Split out from MIX 0.10.0;

    sek

Appendix I: Bib(La)TeX Entry

@report{smith2018mix-muc,
  title = {Mediated Information eXchange (MIX): Co-existence with MUC},
  author = {Smith, Kevin and Kille, Steve},
  type = {XEP},
  number = {0408},
  version = {0.2.0},
  institution = {XMPP Standards Foundation},
  url = {https://xmpp.org/extensions/xep-0408.html},
  date = {2018-05-21/2021-03-09},
}

END