Let's read XEP-0045!

Abstract

This specification defines an XMPP protocol extension for multi-user text chat, whereby multiple XMPP users can exchange messages in the context of a room or channel, similar to Internet Relay Chat (IRC). In addition to standard chatroom features such as room topics and invitations, the protocol defines a strong room control model, including the ability to kick and ban users, to name room moderators and administrators, to require membership or passwords in order to join the room, etc.

Author

Peter Saint-Andre

Copyright

© 1999 – 2019 XMPP Standards Foundation. SEE LEGAL NOTICES.

Status

Draft

NOTICE: The protocol defined herein is a Draft Standard of the XMPP Standards Foundation. Implementations are encouraged and the protocol is appropriate for deployment in production systems, but some changes to the protocol are possible before it becomes a Final Standard.

Type

Standards Track

Version

1.32.0 (2019-05-15)

Note: I want to know the differences of track status, presumably described in Discover XEP-0001: XMPP Extension Protocols.

1. Introduction

Traditionally, instant messaging is thought to consist of one-to-one chat rather than many-to-many chat, which is called variously “groupchat” or “text conferencing”. Groupchat functionality is familiar from systems such as Internet Relay Chat (IRC) and the chatroom functionality offered by popular consumer IM services. The Jabber/XMPP community developed and implemented a basic groupchat protocol as long ago as 1999. That “groupchat 1.0” (GC) protocol provided a minimal feature set for chat rooms but was rather limited in scope. This specification (Multi-User Chat or MUC) is not compatible to the groupchat 1.0 protocol, but provides advanced features such as invitations, room moderation and administration, and specialized room types.

Cool background history. I tried searching for info on “groupchat 1.0” protocol, but can’t find many references not to this document.