My 5 cents; While Jabber is an interesting option (and I'm eager to promote it as much as I can) IRC actually DOES all the stuff Ubuntu needs it to do. I wouldn't say user-friendliness actually fit in this scenario, since we're discussing protocols, not client implementations. (And Gaim supports IRC just as well as Jabber MUC, with the same features, as does Kopete) However, I would say Jabber is the ONLY openly designed protocol (whereas I would consider IRC an evolved protocol) for instant messaging, and thus should definately be promoted by Ubuntu in all ways that can benefit the user. As I would see it, it is almost required from Ubuntu Linux, according to the Ubuntu Philosophy ( <a href="http://www.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/philosophy" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">http://www.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/philosophy</a>) In the discussion of Jabber vs. IRC, I would say that good Jabber-integration in Ubuntu (integration beyond simle MUC) could provide for quite a bit more than plain IRC, for instance the pub-sub mechanisms could be used for security bulletins with direct actions for updating, Jingle could be used for IP-telephony, and there are some interesting applications for social browsing and other kind of peer interaction. So, to sum up, while IRC right now does everything needed for MUC, I think Ubuntu should really push the limits in supporting Jabber, to the extent that it some day the IRC-support channels will be phased out as a result. Respectfully / Ulrik <div>On 10/21/06, Samir van de Sand <<a href="mailto:samir.vds@googlemail.com" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)"> samir.vds@googlemail.com</a>> wrote: <div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">Hi everyone, I just read the call for specifications for UDS Mountain View. So here's my idea: Why not move the Ubuntu channels to Jabber? Jabber provides a feature called MUC,  where Jabber users can create chat rooms on a jabber server to communicate with each other. Here are possible reasons why the Ubuntu channels should move to jabber: * From the rational point this is a better solution, because you can use your existing IM program like Gaim and Kopete to connect to the chat channels. * In Jabber the Server communicate among each other, which means that a user which has an account on jabber server a can enter a channel on server b without connecting to server b and identifying on server b. * Ubuntu as a free distribution should support the spreading of open and standardized protocols in the IM world. What do you guys think about that ? regards Samir -- ubuntu-devel mailing list <a href="mailto:ubuntu-devel@lists.ubuntu.com" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)"> ubuntu-devel@lists.ubuntu.com </a> <a href="https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-devel" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-devel</a> </blockquote> </div></div>