Network Working Group P. Saint-Andre
Internet-Draft J. Miller
Expires: October 1, 2003 Jabber Software Foundation
April 2, 2003
XMPP Instant Messaging
draft-ietf-xmpp-im-07
Status of this Memo
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all provisions of Section 10 of RFC2026.
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This Internet-Draft will expire on October 1, 2003.
Copyright Notice
Copyright (C) The Internet Society (2003). All Rights Reserved.
Abstract
This document describes the specific extensions to and applications
of the Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP) that are
required to create a basic instant messaging and presence
application, such as the servers and clients that comprise the Jabber
network.
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Table of Contents
1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.1 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.2 Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.3 Terminology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.4 Discussion Venue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.5 Intellectual Property Notice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
2. Authentication and Authorization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
3. Exchanging Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
3.1 Specifying an Intended Recipient . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
3.2 Specifying a Message Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
3.3 Specifying a Message Subject . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
3.4 Specifying a Conversation Thread . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
3.5 Specifying a Message Body . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
3.6 Specifying Additional Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
3.7 Message-Related Errors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
4. Exchanging Presence Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
4.1 Client and Server Responsibilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
4.2 Sending Initial Presence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
4.3 Specifying Availability Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
4.4 Specifying Detailed Status Information . . . . . . . . . . . 14
4.5 Probing for Presence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
4.6 Sending Final Presence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
4.7 Determining When a Contact Went Offline . . . . . . . . . . 15
5. Managing Subscriptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
5.1 Requesting a Subscription . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
5.2 Handling a Subscription Request . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
5.3 Cancelling a Subscription from Another Entity . . . . . . . 18
5.4 Unsubscribing from Another Entity's Presence . . . . . . . . 18
6. Managing One's Roster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
6.1 Retrieving One's Roster on Login . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
6.2 Adding a Roster Item . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
6.3 Deleting a Roster Item . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
7. Integration of Roster Items and Presence Subscriptions . . . 23
7.1 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
7.2 User Subscribes to Contact . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
7.2.1 Alternate Flow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
7.3 Creating a Mutual Subscription . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
7.3.1 Alternate Flow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
7.4 Unsubscribing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
7.4.1 Case #1: Subscription Type 'to' . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
7.4.2 Case #2: Subscription Type 'both' . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
7.5 Cancelling a Subscription . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
7.5.1 Case #1: Subscription Type 'from' . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
7.5.2 Case #2: Subscription Type 'both' . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
7.6 Removing a Roster Item and Cancelling All Subscriptions . . 37
8. Blocking Communication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
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8.1 Syntax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
8.2 Business Rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
8.3 Retrieving One's Privacy Lists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
8.4 Managing Active Lists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
8.5 Managing the Default List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
8.6 Editing a Privacy List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
8.7 Removing a Privacy List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
8.8 Blocking Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
8.9 Blocking Inbound Presence Notifications . . . . . . . . . . 49
8.10 Blocking Outbound Presence Notifications . . . . . . . . . . 50
8.11 Blocking IQs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
8.12 Blocking All Communication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
8.13 Blocked Entity Attempts to Communicate with User . . . . . . 55
8.14 Higher-Level Heuristics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
9. Routing and Delivery Rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
9.1 Client Generation of To Addresses . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
9.2 Server Handling of XML Stanzas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
10. IANA Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
11. Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Authors' Addresses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
A. vCards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
B. XML Schemas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
B.1 jabber:iq:auth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
B.2 jabber:iq:auth:error . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
B.3 jabber:iq:last . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
B.4 jabber:iq:privacy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
B.5 jabber:iq:privacy:error . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
B.6 jabber:iq:roster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
C. Revision History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
C.1 Changes from draft-ietf-xmpp-im-06 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
C.2 Changes from draft-ietf-xmpp-im-05 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
C.3 Changes from draft-ietf-xmpp-im-04 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
C.4 Changes from draft-ietf-xmpp-im-03 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
C.5 Changes from draft-ietf-xmpp-im-02 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
C.6 Changes from draft-ietf-xmpp-im-01 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
C.7 Changes from draft-ietf-xmpp-im-00 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
C.8 Changes from draft-miller-xmpp-im-02 . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Full Copyright Statement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
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1. Introduction
1.1 Overview
The core features of the Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol
are defined in XMPP Core [1]. These features -- specifically XML
streams, stream authentication and encryption, and the ,
, and children of the stream root -- provide the
building blocks for many types of near-real-time applications, which
may be layered on top of the core by sending application-specific
data scoped by particular XML namespaces. This document describes
the extensions to and applications of XMPP Core that are required to
create the basic functionality expected of an instant messaging and
presence application as defined in RFC 2779 [2].
1.2 Requirements
For the purposes of this document, we stipulate that a basic instant
messaging and presence application needs to enable a user to perform
the following high-level use cases:
o Authenticate and authorize with a server
o Exchange messages with other users
o Exchange presence information with other users
o Manage subscriptions to and from other users
o Manage the items in the user's contact list (in XMPP this is
called a "roster")
o Block communications to or from specific other users
Detailed definitions of these functionality areas are contained in
RFC 2779 [2], and the interested reader is directed to that document
regarding the requirements addressed herein.
Note: although XMPP IM meets the requirements of RFC 2779, it was not
designed explicitly with RFC 2779 in mind, since the base protocol
evolved through an open development process within the Jabber open-
source community, mainly in 1999. In addition, protocols addressing
many other functionality areas have been defined and continue to be
defined by the Jabber Software Foundation [3]. These include service
discovery, multi-user chat, data gathering and forms submission,
feature negotiation, message composing events, message expiration,
delayed delivery, file transfer, XHTML message formatting, publish-
subscribe, and transports for XML-RPC and SOAP. However, such
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protocols are not described herein because they are not required by
RFC 2779 [2].
1.3 Terminology
This document inherits the terminology defined in XMPP Core [1].
The capitalized key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL",
"SHALL NOT", "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and
"OPTIONAL" in this document are to be interpreted as described in RFC
2119 [4].
1.4 Discussion Venue
The authors welcome discussion and comments related to the topics
presented in this document. The preferred forum is the
mailing list, for which archives and subscription
information are available at .
1.5 Intellectual Property Notice
This document is in full compliance with all provisions of Section 10
of RFC 2026. Parts of this specification use the term "jabber" for
identifying namespaces and other protocol syntax. Jabber[tm] is a
registered trademark of Jabber, Inc. Jabber, Inc. grants permission
to the IETF for use of the Jabber trademark in association with this
specification and its successors, if any.
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2. Authentication and Authorization
Because XMPP-based IM applications are usually implemented via a
client-server architecture, a user must first acquire an account on a
server. Although account provisioning is outside the scope of XMPP,
methods for doing so include account creation by a server
administrator as well as in-band account registration using the
'jabber:iq:register' namespace; the latter method is documented by
the Jabber Software Foundation [3] at .
Once a user has acquired an account, the user MUST authenticate with
the server hosting his or her account in order to gain access to the
network. If a user's client is capable of authenticating by means of
SASL, it MUST include a 'version' attribute (set to a value of "1.0")
within the opening tag with which it initiates
communications with the server. The protocol describing how a client
authenticates with a server using SASL is defined in XMPP Core [1].
(Note: the Jabber precursor to XMPP contained a client-server
authentication protocol that was enforced after the stream was
negotiated; this protocol is not supported in XMPP but is documented
by the Jabber Software Foundation [3] at .
Once a client has authenticated with a server, it MUST define a
resource that the server can associate with the connection for
purposes of authorization and addressing. This is necessary because
stanzas sent to or received from the server within the context of an
active IM session use a "full JID" () for
addressing. Authorizing a resource is accomplished by means of the
'jabber:iq:auth' namespace as described below.
Step 1: Client queries server regarding information that is still
required to begin a session:
juliet
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Step 2: Server responds with the required fields (in this case, only
the username and authorized resource):
juliet
Step 3: Client sends name of authorized resource:
juliet
balcony
Step 4: Server informs client of successful session initiation:
Step 4 (alt): Server informs client of XML formatting error:
juliet
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Step 4 (alt): Server informs client of resource formatting error:
juliet
Step 4 (alt): Server informs client of resource conflict (the desired
resource name is already in use by another active connection):
juliet
balcony
Note: existing implementations usually terminate the existing session
when a client attempts to authorize a new resource with the same name
as the existing session; however, is up to the implementation whether
to terminate the existing session or to inform the attempted new
session about the resource conflict and thus require the new session
to authorize a different resource name.
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3. Exchanging Messages
Exchanging messages is a basic use of XMPP and is effected when a
user sends a message stanza to another user (or, more generally,
another entity). As defined under Routing and Delivery Rules
(Section 9), the sender's server is responsible for delivering the
message to the intended recipient (if the recipient is on the same
server) or for routing the message to the recipient's server (if the
recipient is on a different server).
Detailed information regarding the syntax of message stanzas and
their defined attributes and child elements may be found in XMPP Core
[1].
3.1 Specifying an Intended Recipient
A client SHOULD specify an intended recipient for the message by
providing an appropriate JID in the 'to' attribute of the
element. Normally, the value of the 'to' attribute specifies an
entity other than the sending user (see Section 9 for exceptions).
The intended recipient MAY be any valid JID (a user on the same
server, a user on a different server, the server itself, another
server, etc.). If the JID is invalid or cannot be contacted, the
entity discovering that fact (usually the sender's or recipient's
server) MUST return an error to the sender.
3.2 Specifying a Message Type
As mentioned in XMPP Core [1], there are several defined types of
messages (specified by means of a 'type' attribute within the
element). In the context of an instant messaging
application, a client MAY include a message type in order to capture
the conversational context of the message, thus providing a hint
regarding presentation (e.g., in a GUI). If no 'type' attribute is
provided, the message SHOULD be assumed to be a standalone message to
which the recipient MAY reply if desired. If the 'type' attribute is
included, it SHOULD have one of the following values (any other value
MAY be ignored):
o chat -- The message is sent in the context of a one-to-one chat
conversation. A compliant client SHOULD present an interface
enabling one-to-one chat between the two parties, including an
appropriate conversation history.
o groupchat -- The message is sent in the context of a multi-user
chat environment. A compliant client SHOULD present an interface
enabling many-to-many chat between the parties, including a roster
of parties in the chatroom and an appropriate conversation
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history.
o headline -- The message is probably generated by an automated
service that delivers or broadcasts content (news, sports, market
information, RSS feeds, etc.). No reply to the message is
expected, and a compliant client SHOULD present an interface that
appropriately differentiates the message from standalone messages,
chat sessions, or groupchat sessions (e.g., by not providing the
recipient with the ability to reply).
o error -- An error has occurred related to a previous message sent
by the sender (for details regarding stanza error syntax, see XMPP
Core [1]). A compliant client SHOULD present an appropriate
interface informing the sender of the nature of the error.
Although the 'type' attribute is OPTIONAL, it is considered polite to
mirror the type in any replies to a message; furthermore, some
specialized applications (e.g., a multi-user chat service) MAY at
their discretion enforce the use of a particular message type (e.g.,
type='groupchat').
3.3 Specifying a Message Subject
A message stanza MAY contain a child element specifying
the subject of the message. The subject MUST NOT contain mixed
content. Multiple elements MAY be included, as long as
each contains an 'xml:lang' attribute with a distinct value.
A message with a subject:
Sleep dwell upon thine eyes.
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4. Exchanging Presence Information
Exchanging presence information is made relatively straightforward
within XMPP by using presence stanzas. However, we see here a
contrast to the handling of messages: although a client MAY send
directed presence information to another entity, in general presence
information is sent from a client to a server (with no 'to' address)
and then broadcasted by the server to any entities that are
subscribed to the presence of the sending entity. (Note: in the
terminology of RFC 2778 [5], the only watchers in XMPP are
subscribers.)
Detailed information regarding the syntax of presence stanzas and
their defined attributes and child elements may be found in XMPP Core
[1].
4.1 Client and Server Responsibilities
When a client connects to a server, it SHOULD send an initial
presence stanza to the server to express default availability. This
presence stanza MUST possess no 'to' address (signalling that it is
meant to be handled by the server on behalf of the user) and SHOULD
have no type.
Upon receiving initial presence from a client, the server MUST send
presence probes from the full JID (user@domain/resource) of the user
to any remote entities that are subscribed to the user's presence (as
represented in the user's roster) in order to determine if they are
available. (The remote server is responsible for responding to the
presence probe only when (1) the probing entity has been allowed to
access the probed entity's presence, e.g., by server rules or user
subscriptions, and (2) the probed entity is available. The probing
entity's server then informs the probing entity of the probed
entity's last known available presence, for all of the probed
entity's resources if applicable.)
Throughout the active session of a connected resource, the server is
responsible for broadcasting any changes in the availability status
of the connected resource to the subscribed entities that are
available, so that such entities are kept apprised of availability
changes.
Finally, when a connected resource becomes unavailable, the server
MUST notify all of the subscribed entities that are available, as
well as any entities to which the user sent directed presence during
the active session for that connected resource.
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4.2 Sending Initial Presence
Upon authenticating, a client SHOULD send initial presence to its
server indicating that the connected resource is available for
communications. This presence stanza MUST have no 'to' address and
SHOULD have no type.
Initial presence sent from client to server:
4.3 Specifying Availability Status
A client MAY provide further information about its availability
status by using the element. As mentioned in XMPP Core [1],
the recognized values for the show element are:
o away -- The entity or resource is temporarily away.
o chat -- The entity or resource is actively interested in chatting.
o xa -- The entity or resource is away for an extended period (xa =
"eXtended Away").
o dnd -- The entity or resource is busy (dnd = "Do Not Disturb").
Availability status:
away
4.4 Specifying Detailed Status Information
In conjunction with the element, a client MAY provide
detailed status information by using the element. The
content of this element is a natural-language description of the
client's current availability status.
Detailed status information:
dnd
Busy fighting the Romans
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4.5 Probing for Presence
A server MAY probe for the current presence of another entity. A
user or client SHOULD NOT send presence stanzas of type 'probe'.
4.6 Sending Final Presence
Upon ending its session with a server, a client SHOULD gracefully
become unavailable by sending a final presence stanza that is
explicitly of type unavailable.
Sending final presence to express unavailable state:
Optionally, final presence MAY contain one or more elements
specifying the reason why the user is no longer available.
The server MUST NOT depend on receiving final presence from a
connected resource, since the resource may become unavailable
unexpectedly. If a server detects that a resource has become
unavailable for any reason (either gracefully or ungracefully), it
MUST send to all online entities that
are subscribed to the associated user's presence, as well as to any
entities to which the user sent directed presence during the active
session for that connected resource.
4.7 Determining When a Contact Went Offline
The server MUST maintain a record of the time at which a user became
unavailable (whether gracefully or ungracefully). An authorized
subscriber to that user's presence MAY determine the time of last
activity by sending an IQ stanza to the user's bare JID (user@domain)
containing an empty element scoped by the 'jabber:iq:last'
namespace:
Requesting the last active time of a user:
If the entity requesting the time of last activity is an authorized
subscriber to the user's presence, the server SHOULD return an IQ
stanza of type 'result' with the number of seconds since the user was
last active (subject to service provisioning and privacy
configuration at a particular deployment):
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Returning the last active time of a user:
If the entity requesting the time of last activity is not an
authorized subscriber to the user's presence, the server MUST return
an IQ stanza of type 'error' with an error condition of forbidden:
Requester is forbidden to view the last active time of a user:
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5. Managing Subscriptions
In order to protect the privacy of instant messaging users and any
other entities, presence and availability information is made
available only to other entities that the user has approved. When a
user has agreed that another entity may view its presence, the entity
is said to have a subscription to the user's presence information. A
subscription lasts across sessions; indeed, it lasts until the
subscriber unsubscribes or the subscribee cancels the previously-
granted subscription. Subscriptions are managed within XMPP by
sending presence stanzas containing specially-defined attributes.
Note: there are important interactions between subscriptions and
rosters; these are defined under Integration of Roster Items and
Presence Subscriptions (Section 7), and the reader must refer to that
section for a complete understanding of presence subscriptions.
5.1 Requesting a Subscription
A request to subscribe to another entity's presence is made by
sending a presence stanza of type "subscribe".
Sending a subscription request:
5.2 Handling a Subscription Request
When a client receives a subscription request from another entity, it
MAY accept the request by sending a presence stanza of type
"subscribed" or decline the request by sending a presence stanza of
type "unsubscribed".
Accepting a subscription request:
Denying a presence subscription request:
A user's server MUST NOT automatically accept subscription requests
on the user's behalf. All subscription requests MUST be directed to
the user's client. If there is no connected resource associated with
the user when the subscription request is received, the user's server
MUST store the subscription request offline for delivery when the
user next becomes available.
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5.3 Cancelling a Subscription from Another Entity
If a user would like to cancel a previously-granted subscription
request, it sends a presence stanza of type "unsubscribed".
Cancelling a previously granted subscription request:
5.4 Unsubscribing from Another Entity's Presence
If a user would like to unsubscribe from the presence of another
entity, it sends a presence stanza of type "unsubscribe".
Unsubscribing from an entity's presence:
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6. Managing One's Roster
In XMPP, one's contact list is called a roster. A roster is stored
by the server on the user's behalf so that the user may access roster
information from any connected resource.
Note: there are important interactions between rosters and
subscriptions; these are defined under Integration of Roster Items
and Presence Subscriptions (Section 7), and the reader must refer to
that section for a complete understanding of roster management.
6.1 Retrieving One's Roster on Login
Upon connecting to the server, a client MAY request the roster
(however, because receiving the roster may not be desirable for all
resources, e.g., a connection with limited bandwidth, the client's
request for the roster is OPTIONAL). If a connected resource does
not request the roster during a session, it SHOULD never receive
presence subscriptions and associated roster pushes.
Client requests current roster from server:
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Client receives roster from the server:
-
Friends
-
Friends
6.2 Adding a Roster Item
At any time, a user MAY add an item to his or her roster.
Client adds a new item:
-
Servants
The server is responsible for updating the roster information in
persistent storage, and also for pushing that change out to all
connected resources associated with the user using an IQ stanza of
type "set" (this is referred to as a "roster push"). This "roster
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push" enables all connected resources to remain in sync with the
server-based roster information.
Server replies with an IQ result to the sending resource and pushes
the updated roster information to all connected resources:
-
Servants
-
Servants
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Connected resources reply with an IQ result to the server:
Updating an existing roster item (e.g., changing the group) is done
in the same way as adding a new roster item, i.e., by sending the
roster item in an IQ set to the server.
6.3 Deleting a Roster Item
At any time, a user MAY delete an item from its roster by doing an IQ
set and making sure that the value of the 'subscription' attribute is
"remove" (a compliant server MUST ignore any other values of the
'subscription' attribute when received from a client).
Client removes an item:
-
Servants
As with adding a roster item, when deleting a roster item the server
is responsible for updating the roster information in persistent
storage, and also for initiating a "roster push" to all connected
resources associated with the user.
For further information about the implications of this command, see
Section 7.6.
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7. Integration of Roster Items and Presence Subscriptions
7.1 Overview
Some level of integration between roster items and presence
subscriptions is normally expected by instant messaging users. This
section describes the level of integration that must be supported
within XMPP IM.
There are four primary subscription states:
o None -- Neither the user nor the contact is subscribed to the
other's presence
o To -- The user is subscribed to the contact's presence but there
is no subscription from the contact to the user
o From -- There is a subscription from the contact to the user, but
the user has not subscribed to the contact's presence
o Both -- Both the user and the contact are subscribed to each
other's presence (i.e., the union of 'from' and 'to')
Each of these states is reflected in the roster of both the user and
the contact, thus resulting in durable subscription states. The
details regarding how these subscription states interact with roster
items is explained in the following sub-sections.
As noted above, if a connected resource does not request the roster
during a session, it SHOULD never receive presence subscriptions and
the associated roster pushes. In addition, a client MUST acknowledge
each roster push with an IQ stanza of type "result" (these stanzas
are not shown in the following examples but are required by XMPP Core
[1]).
7.2 User Subscribes to Contact
The process by which a user subscribes to a contact, including the
interaction between roster items and subscription states, is defined
below.
1. In preparation for being able to render the contact in the user's
client interface and for the server to keep track of the
subscription, the user's client SHOULD send an IQ stanza of
type='set' in the 'jabber:iq:roster' namespace for the new roster
item; the element MUST possess a 'jid' attribute, MAY
possess a 'name' attribute, may contain one or more
child, and MUST NOT posses a 'subscription' attribute:
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2. The server then MUST (1) reply with an IQ stanza of type='result'
and (2) initiate a "roster push" for the new roster item to all
connected resources associated with this user, setting the
subscription state set to 'none':
3. In order to initiate the subscription, the user's client MUST
then send a presence stanza of type='subscribe' to the contact
(the user's client must also acknowledge the roster push):
4. The server MUST then initiate a second "roster push" to all
connected resources associated with the user, setting the contact
to the pending sub-state of the 'none' subscription state; this
pending sub-state is denoted by the inclusion of the
ask='subscribe' attribute in the roster item:
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Note: if the user did not create a roster item before sending the
subscription request, the server MUST create one and send the
above roster push to all of the user's connected resources.
5. The server MUST also deliver the presence stanza to the contact
or route it to the contact's server for delivery to the contact,
first stamping the stanza with the user's bare JID as the 'from'
address:
6. If the contact is online (i.e., there is a connected resource
associated with the contact's account), the contact must now
decide whether or not to accept the subscription request. (If
the contact is offline, the contact's server MUST store the
subscription request offline for delivery when the contact next
becomes available.) Here we will assume the "happy path" that the
contact accepts the subscription, in which case the contact's
client MAY send a roster set to the server specifying the desired
nickname and group for the user, and MUST send a presence stanza
of type='subscribed' to the user.
7. The contact's server MUST now initiate a "roster push" to all
connected resources associated with the contact, containing a
roster item for the user with the subscription state set to
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'from':
8. As a result of the fact that the contact has accepted the
subscription request, the user's server MUST (1) deliver the
presence stanza of type='subscribed' from the contact to the
user, and (2) initiate a "roster push" to all connected resources
associated with the user, containing an updated roster item for
the contact with the subscription type set to a value of "to":
From the perspective of the user, there is now a subscription to the
contact; from the perspective of the contact, there is now a
subscription from the user. The contact's server MUST now send the
contact's current presence information to the user. (Note: If at
this point the user sends another subscription request to the
contact, the user's server MUST "swallow" that request and not send
it on the contact.)
7.2.1 Alternate Flow
The above activity flow represents the "happy path" related to the
user's subscription request to the contact. The main alternate flow
occurs if the contact denies the user's subscription request; in
order to deny the request, the contact's client MUST send a presence
stanza of type "unsubscribed" to the user:
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The user's server MUST then (1) deliver that presence stanza to the
user and (2) initiate a "roster push" to all connected resources
associated with the user, with the subscription attribute set to a
value of "none":
As a result of this activity, the contact is now in the user's roster
with a subscription state of "none", whereas the user is not in the
contact's roster at all.
7.3 Creating a Mutual Subscription
The user and contaact can build on the foregoing to create a mutual
subscription (i.e., a subscription of type "both"). The process is
defined below.
1. If the contact desires a mutual subscription, the contact MUST
send a subscription request to the user (subject to user
preferences, the contact's client MAY send this automatically):
2. The contact's server MUST then initiate a "roster push" to all
connected resources associated with the contact, with the user
still in the 'from' subscription state but with a pending 'to'
subscription denoted by the inclusion of the ask='subscribe'
attribute in the roster item:
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3. If the user is online (i.e., there is a connected resource
associated with the user's account), the user must now decide
whether or not to accept the subscription request. (If the user
is offline, the user's server MUST store the subscription request
offline for delivery when the user next becomes available.) Here
we will assume the "happy path" that the user accepts the
subscription, in which case the user's client MUST send a
presence stanza of type='subscribed' to the contact.
4. The user's server MUST then initiate a "roster push" to all
connected resources associated with the user, containing a roster
item for the contact with the subscription attribute set to a
value of "both":
5. As a result of the fact that the user has accepted the
subscription request, the contact's server MUST (1) deliver the
presence stanza of type='subscribed' from the user to the
contact, and (2) initiate a "roster push" to all connected
resources associated with the contact, containing an updated
roster item for the user with the subscription type set to a
value of "both":
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The user and the contact now have a mutual subscription to each
other's presence -- i.e., the subscription is of type 'both'. The
user's server MUST now send the user's current presence information
to the contact. (Note: If at this point the user sends a
subscription request to the contact or the contact sends a
subscription request to the user, the sending user's server will
"swallow" that request and not send it on the intended recipient.)
7.3.1 Alternate Flow
The above activity flow represents the "happy path" related to the
contact's subscription request to the user. The main alternate flow
occurs if the user denies the contact's subscription request; in
order to deny the request, the user's client MUST send a presence
stanza of type "unsubscribed" to the contact:
The contact's server MUST then (1) deliver that presence stanza to
the contact and (2) initiate a "roster push" to all connected
resources associated with the contact, with the subscription
attribute set to a value of "from" and with no 'ask' attribute:
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As a result of this activity, there has been no change in the
subscription state; i.e., the contact is in the user's roster with a
subscription state of "to" and the user is in the contact's roster
with a subscription state of "from".
7.4 Unsubscribing
At any time after subscribing to a contact's presence, a user MAY
unsubscribe. While the XML that the user sends to make this happen
is the same in all instances, the subsequent subscription state is
different depending on the subscription state obtaining when the
unsubscribe command is sent. Both possible scenarios are defined
below.
7.4.1 Case #1: Subscription Type 'to'
In the first case, the user has a subscription to the contact but the
contact does not have a subscription to the user (i.e., the
subscription is not yet mutual).
1. In order to unsubscribe from the contact's presence, the user
MUST send a presence stanza of type "unsubscribe" to the contact:
2. As a result, the user's server MUST send a "roster push" to each
connected resource associated with the user, containing a roster
item for the contact with the 'subscription' attribute set to a
value of "from":
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3. The user's server MUST also route the unsubscribe "command" to
the contact's server:
4. The contact's server MUST initiate a "roster push" to all
connected resources associated with the contact, containing a
roster item for the user with the 'subscription' attribute set to
a value of "to" (if the contact is offline, the contact's server
MUST modify the roster item and send that modified item the next
time the contact requests the roster); the contact's server
SHOULD also deliver the unsubscribe command to the contact:
5. The contact's server then MUST send unavailable presence from the
contact to the user and MAY send a presence stanza of type
"unsubscribed" to the user:
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6. As a result, the user's server MUST deliver the unavailable
presence from the user to the contact and (if received) the
presence stanza of type "unsubscribed" from the contact to the
user,
7.4.2 Case #2: Subscription Type 'both'
In the second case, the user has a subscription to the contact and
the contact also has a subscription to the user.
1. In order to unsubscribe from the contact's presence, the user
MUST send a presence stanza of type "unsubscribe" to the contact:
2. As a result, the user's server MUST send a "roster push" to each
connected resource associated with the user, containing a roster
item for the contact with the 'ask' attribute set to unsubscribe
to indicate that the unsubscribe is pending:
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3. Since the unsubscribe command does not normally need to be
approved by the contact, the contact's server then SHOULD auto-
reply on behalf of the contact by sending a presence stanza of
type "unsubscribed" to the user; additionally, it MUST send
unavailable presence from the contact to the user:
4. The contact's server also MUST initiate a "roster push" to all
connected resources associated with the contact, containing a
roster item for the user with the 'subscription' attribute set to
a value of "to" (if the contact is offline, the contact's server
MUST modify the roster item and send that modified item the next
time the contact requests the roster):
5. As a result, the user's server MUST (1) deliver the presence
stanza of type='unsubscribed' from the contact to the user, (2)
initiate a "roster push" to all connected resources associated
with the user, containing an updated roster item for the contact
with the subscription type set to a value of "from" and with no
'ask' attribute, and (3) deliver the unavailable presence from
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the user to the contact:
Note: Obviously this does not result in removal of the roster item
from the user's roster, and the contact still has a subscription to
the user's presence. In order to more completely cancel a mutual
subscription and fully remove the roster item from the user's roster,
the user should update the roster item with subscription='remove' as
defined in Section 7.6.
7.5 Cancelling a Subscription
At any time after approving a subscription request from a user, a
contact MAY cancel that subscription. While the XML that the contact
sends to make this happen is the same in all instances, the
subsequent subscription state is different depending on the
subscription state obtaining when the cancellation is sent. Both
possible scenarios are defined below.
7.5.1 Case #1: Subscription Type 'from'
In the first case, the user has a subscription to the contact but the
contact does not have a subscription to the user (i.e., the
subscription is not yet mutual).
1. In order to cancel the user's subscription, the contact MUST send
a presence stanza of type "unsubscribed" to the user:
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2. As a result, the contact's server MUST (1) send a "roster push"
to each connected resource associated with the contact,
containing a roster item for the user with the 'subscription'
attribute set to a value of "none", and (2) send unavailable
presence from the contact to the user:
3. The user's server MUST then initiate a "roster push" to all
connected resources associated with the user, containing a roster
item for the contact with the 'subscription' attribute set to a
value of "none" (if the user is offline, the user's server MUST
modify the roster item and send that modified item the next time
the user requests the roster); additionally, it MUST also deliver
the unavailable presence from the contact to the user:
7.5.2 Case #2: Subscription Type 'both'
In the second case, the user has a subscription to the contact and
the contact also has a subscription to the user.
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1. In order to cancel the user's subscription, the user MUST send a
presence stanza of type "unsubscribed" to the user:
2. As a result, the contact's server MUST (1) send a "roster push"
to each connected resource associated with the contact,
containing a roster item for the user with the 'subscription'
attribute set to a value of "to", and (2) send unavailable
presence from the contact to the user:
3. The user's server MUST then initiate a "roster push" to all
connected resources associated with the user, containing a roster
item for the contact with the 'subscription' attribute set to a
value of "from" (if the user is offline, the user's server MUST
modify the roster item and send that modified item the next time
the user requests the roster); additionally, it MUST also deliver
the unavailable presence from the contact to the user:
Note: Obviously this does not result in removal of the roster item
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from the contact's roster, and the contact still has a subscription
to the user's presence. In order to more completely cancel a mutual
subscription and fully remove the roster item from the contact's
roster, the contact should update the roster item with
subscription='remove' as defined in Section 7.6.
7.6 Removing a Roster Item and Cancelling All Subscriptions
Because there may be many steps involved in completely removing a
roster item and reverting the subscription state to "none", XMPP IM
includes a "shortcut" method for doing so. The process may be
initiated by either a contact or a user no matter what the current
subscription state is, by means of sending a roster set with the
subscription attribute set to a value of "remove".
For example, a user may send the following XML:
When the user removes a contact from his or her roster by setting the
'subscription' attribute to a value of "remove", the user's server
MUST automatically cancel any existing presence subscription between
the user and the contact by sending presence stanzas of type
"unsubscribe" and "unsubscribed" from the user to the contact.
A contact may also send such a command, resulting in the same type of
system behavior.
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8. Blocking Communication
Most instant messaging systems have found it necessary to implement
some method for users to block communications from particular other
users (this is also required by sections 5.1.5, 5.1.15, 5.3.2, and
5.4.10 of RFC 2779 [2]). In XMPP this is done using the
'jabber:iq:privacy' namespace by managing one's privacy lists.
Server-side privacy lists enable successful completion of the
following use cases:
o Retrieving one's privacy lists.
o Adding, removing, and editing one's privacy lists.
o Setting, changing, or declining active lists.
o Setting, changing, or declining the default list (i.e., the list
that is active by default).
o Allowing or denying messages based on JID, group, or subscription
type (or globally).
o Allowing or denying inbound presence notifications based on JID,
group, or subscription type (or globally).
o Allowing or denying outbound presence notifications based on JID,
group, or subscription type (or globally).
o Allowing or denying IQs based on JID, group, or subscription type
(or globally).
o Allowing or denying all communications based on JID, group, or
subscription type (or globally).
Note: presence notifications do not include presence subscriptions,
only presence information that is broadcasted to entities that are
subscribed to a user's presence information. Thus this includes
presence stanzas with no 'type' attribute or of type='unavailable'
only.
8.1 Syntax
A user may define one or more privacy lists, which are stored by the
user's server. Each
element contains one or more rules in
the form of elements, and each element uses
attributes to define a privacy rule type, a specific value within the
type, the relevant action, and the place of the item in the
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processing order.
The syntax is as follows:
If the type is "jid", then the 'value' attribute MUST contain a valid
Jabber ID. JIDs are matched in the following order: "user@domain/
resource", then "user@domain", then "domain/resource", then "domain".
If the value is "user@domain", then any connected resource for that
user@domain matches. If the value is "domain", then any user@domain
matches. If the value is "domain/resource", then only that resource
matches.
If the type is "group", then the 'value' attribute MUST contain the
name of a group in the user's roster.
If the type is "subscription", then the 'value' attribute MUST be one
of "both", "to", "from", or "none" as defined in XMPP Core [1].
If no 'type' attribute is included, the rule provides the "fall-
through" case.
The 'action' attribute MUST be included and its value MUST be either
"accept" or "deny".
The 'order' attribute MUST be included and its value MUST be a non-
negative integer that is unique among all items in the list. (If a
client attempts to create or update a list with non-unique order
values, the server MUST return to the client a error
of class "format" in the 'urn:ietf:params:xml:ns:xmpp-stanzas'
namespace.)
Within the 'jabber:iq:privacy' namespace, the child of a
client-generated IQ stanza of type "set" MUST NOT include more than
one child element (i.e., the stanza must contain only one
element, one element, or one
element); if a client
violates this rule, the server MUST return to the client a error of class "format" in the
'urn:ietf:params:xml:ns:xmpp-stanzas' namespace.)
When a client adds or updates a privacy list, the
element
MUST contain at least one child element.
When a client updates a privacy list, it must include all of the
desired items (i.e., not a "delta").
8.2 Business Rules
The active list affects only the session/resource for which it is
activated, and only for the duration of the session. If a stanza is
addressed to a specific resource, only the active list for that
session is processed (i.e., the default list is ignored).
The default list applies to the user as a whole, and is processed if
there is no active list set for the target session/resource to which
a stanza is addressed, or if there are no current sessions for the
user.
If there is no active list set for a session (or there are no current
sessions for the user), and there is no default list, then all
stanzas SHOULD BE accepted or appropriately processed by the server
on behalf of the user.
Privacy lists SHOULD be the first routing and delivery rule applied
by a server, trumping the other rules specified in Section 9.
The order in which privacy list items are processed by the server is
important. List items MUST be processed in ascending order
determined by the values of the 'order' attribute for each .
As soon as a stanza is matched against a privacy list, the server
SHOULD appropriately handle the stanza and cease processing.
If no fall-through item is provided in a list, the fall-through
action is assumed to be "accept".
When a user updates the definition for a list or adds a new list
(whether or not it is active), the server SHOULD NOT "push" that
information out to all connected resources associated with the user's
account, as is done for rosters. If a client or user wants to
retrieve the current privacy list information, it SHOULD request the
relevant list.
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8.3 Retrieving One's Privacy Lists
Client requests names of privacy lists from server:
Server sends names of privacy lists to client, including default list
and active list:
Client requests a privacy list from server:
Server sends a privacy list to client:
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Client requests another privacy list from server:
Server sends another privacy list to client:
Client requests yet another privacy list from server:
Server sends yet another privacy list to client:
In this example, the user has three lists: (1) 'public', which allows
communications from everyone except one specific entity; (2)
'private', which allows communications only from contacts who have a
bi-directional subscription with the user; and (3) 'special', which
allows communications only from three specific entities. The active
list currently being applied by the server is the 'private' list.
If the user attempts to retrieve a list but a list by that name does
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not exist, the server MUST return an application-specific "list not
found" error to the user:
Client attempts to retrieve non-existent list:
The user may retrieve only one list at a time. If the user attempts
to retrieve more than one list in the same request, the server MUST
return an application-specific error to the user.
Client attempts to retrieve more than one list:
8.4 Managing Active Lists
In order to set or change the active list currently being applied by
the server, the user MUST send an IQ stanza of type 'set' with a
element scoped by the 'jabber:iq:privacy' namespace that
contains an empty child element possessing a 'name'
attribute whose value is set to the desired list name.
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Client requests change of active list:
The server MUST activate and apply the requested list before sending
the result back to the client.
Server acknowledges success of active list change:
If the user attempts to set an active list but a list by that name
does not exist, the server MUST return an application-specific "list
not found" error to the user:
Client attempts to set a non-existent list as active:
In order to decline the use of any active list (i.e., to use the
domain's stanza routing rules for the duration of the session), a
user MUST send an empty element with no name.
Client declines the use of active lists:
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8.5 Managing the Default List
In order to change the default list associated with an account, the
user MUST send an IQ stanza of type 'set' with a element
scoped by the 'jabber:iq:privacy' namespace that contains an empty
child element possessing a 'name' attribute whose value is
set to the desired list name.
Client requests change of default list:
Server acknowledges success of default list change:
If the user attempts to set a default list but a list by that name
does not exist, the server MUST return an application-specific "list
not found" error to the user:
Client attempts to set a non-existent list as default:
In order to decline the use of a default list (i.e., to use the
domain's stanza routing rules at all times), a user MUST send an
empty element with no name.
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Client declines the use of the default list:
8.6 Editing a Privacy List
In order to edit a privacy list, the user MUST send an IQ stanza of
type 'set' with a element scoped by the 'jabber:iq:privacy'
namespace that contains one
child element possessing a 'name'
attribute whose value is set to the list name the user would like to
edit. The
element MUST contain one or more elements,
which specify the user's desired changes to the list by including all
elements in the list (not the "delta"); the same protocol is used to
create a new list.
Client edits a privacy list:
Note: The value of the 'order' attribute for any given item is not
fixed. Thus in the foregoing example if the user would like to add 4
items between the "tybalt@capulet.com" item and the
"paris@shakespeare.lit" item, the user's client can simply renumber
all the items before submitting the list to the server.
Server acknowledges success of list edit:
In this example, the user has added one additional entity to the
"blacklist" portion of this privacy list.
8.7 Removing a Privacy List
In order to remove a privacy list, the user MUST send an IQ stanza of
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type 'set' with a element scoped by the 'jabber:iq:privacy'
namespace that contains one empty
child elements possessing a
'name' attribute whose value is set to the list name the user would
like to remove.
Client removes a privacy list:
Server acknowledges success of list removal:
If a user attempts to remove an active list or the default list, the
server MUST return an application-specific error
to the user.
If the user attempts to remove a list but a list by that name does
not exist, the server MUST return an application-specific error to the user.
If the user attempts to remove more than one list in the same
request, the server MUST return an application-specific error to the user.
8.8 Blocking Messages
Server-side privacy lists enable a user to block incoming messages
from other users based on the other user's JID, roster group, or
subscription status, or globally. The following examples illustrate
the required protocol.
User blocks based on JID:
-
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As a result of creating and applying the foregoing list, the user
will not receive messages from the user with the specified JID.
User blocks based on roster group:
-
As a result of creating and applying the foregoing list, the user
will not receive messages from any users in the specified roster
group.
User blocks based on subscription type:
-
As a result of creating and applying the foregoing list, the user
will not receive messages from any users with the specified
subscription type.
User blocks globally:
-
As a result of creating and applying the foregoing list, the user
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will not receive messages from any other users.
8.9 Blocking Inbound Presence Notifications
Server-side privacy lists enable a user to block incoming presence
notifications from other users based on the other user's JID, roster
group, or subscription status, or globally. The following examples
illustrate the required protocol.
Note: presence notifications do not include presence subscriptions,
only presence information that is broadcasted to the user because the
user previously subscribed to a contact's presence information. Thus
this includes presence stanzas with no 'type' attribute or of
type='unavailable' only.
User blocks based on JID:
-
As a result of creating and applying the foregoing list, the user
will not receive presence notifications from the user with the
specified JID.
User blocks based on roster group:
-
As a result of creating and applying the foregoing list, the user
will not receive presence notifications from any users in the
specified roster group.
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User blocks based on subscription type:
-
As a result of creating and applying the foregoing list, the user
will not receive presence notifications from any users with the
specified subscription type.
User blocks globally:
-
As a result of creating and applying the foregoing list, the user
will not receive presence notifications from any other users.
8.10 Blocking Outbound Presence Notifications
Server-side privacy lists enable a user to block outgoing presence
notifications to other users based on the other user's JID, roster
group, or subscription status, or globally. The following examples
illustrate the required protocol.
Note: presence notifications do not include presence subscriptions,
only presence information that is broadcasted to contacts because
those contacts previously subscribed to the user's presence
information. Thus this includes presence stanzas with no 'type'
attribute or of type='unavailable' only.
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User blocks based on JID:
-
As a result of creating and applying the foregoing list, the user
will not send presence notifications to the user with the specified
JID.
User blocks based on roster group:
-
As a result of creating and applying the foregoing list, the user
will not send presence notifications to any users in the specified
roster group.
User blocks based on subscription type:
-
As a result of creating and applying the foregoing list, the user
will not send presence notifications to any users with the specified
subscription type.
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User blocks globally:
-
As a result of creating and applying the foregoing list, the user
will not send presence notifications to any other users.
8.11 Blocking IQs
Server-side privacy lists enable a user to block incoming IQ requests
of type "get" or "set" from other users based on the other user's
JID, roster group, or subscription status, or globally. The
following examples illustrate the required protocol.
User blocks based on JID:
-
As a result of creating and applying the foregoing list, the user
will not receive IQ requests of type "get" or "set" from the user
with the specified JID.
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User blocks based on roster group:
-
As a result of creating and applying the foregoing list, the user
will not receive IQ requests of type "get" or "set" from any users in
the specified roster group.
User blocks based on subscription type:
-
As a result of creating and applying the foregoing list, the user
will not receive IQ requests of type "get" or "set" from any users
with the specified subscription type.
User blocks globally:
-
As a result of creating and applying the foregoing list, the user
will not receive IQ requests of type "get" or "set" from any other
users.
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8.12 Blocking All Communication
Server-side privacy lists enable a user to block all communications
from and presence to other users based on the other user's JID,
roster group, or subscription status, or globally. The following
examples illustrate the required protocol.
User blocks based on JID:
As a result of creating and applying the foregoing list, the user
will not receive any communications from, nor send presence to, the
user with the specified JID.
User blocks based on roster group:
As a result of creating and applying the foregoing list, the user
will not receive any communications from, nor send presence to, any
users in the specified roster group.
User blocks based on subscription type:
As a result of creating and applying the foregoing list, the user
will not receive any communications from, nor send presence to, any
users with the specified subscription type.
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User blocks globally:
As a result of creating and applying the foregoing list, the user
will not receive any communications from, nor send presence to, any
other users.
8.13 Blocked Entity Attempts to Communicate with User
If a blocked entity attempts to send messages or presence
notifications to the user, the user's server SHOULD silently drop the
stanza and MUST NOT return an error to the sending entity.
If a blocked entity attempts to send an IQ stanza of type "get" or
"set" to the user, the user's server MUST return to the sending
entity a error of class "recipient" in the
'urn:ietf:params:xml:ns:xmpp-stanzas' namespace, since this is the
standard error code sent from a client that does not understand the
namespace of an IQ get or set. IQ stanzas of other types SHOULD be
silently dropped by the server.
Blocked entity attempts to send IQ get:
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Server returns error to blocked entity:
8.14 Higher-Level Heuristics
When building a representation of a higher-level privacy heuristic, a
client SHOULD use the simplest possible representation.
For example, the heuristic "block all communications with any user
not in my roster" could be constructed in any of the following ways:
o accept communications from all JIDs in my roster (i.e., listing
each JID as a separate list item), but deny communications with
everyone else
o accept communications from any user who is in one of the groups
that make up my roster (i.e., listing each group as a separate
list item), but deny communications from everyone else
o accept communications from any user with whom I have a
subscription of 'both' or 'to' or 'from' (i.e., listing each
subscription value separately), but deny communications from
everyone else
o deny communications from anyone whose subscription state is 'none'
The final representation is the simplest and SHOULD be used; here is
the XML that would be sent in this case:
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9. Routing and Delivery Rules
9.1 Client Generation of To Addresses
Many XMPP stanzas possess a 'to' address that specifies the intended
recipient of the stanza. When a server receives a stanza possessing
a 'to' attribute from a connected client, it is responsible for
either directly delivering the stanza to the intended recipient (if
the recipient is served by the same server) or for routing the stanza
to another server (if the recipient is not served by the same
server). (This does not necessary imply that the recipient is on a
different domain from the sender, since one server could host
multiple domains.) If delivery to the intended recipient is
unsuccessful or the recipient's server cannot be contacted, the
sender's server is responsible for returning an error to the sender;
if the recipient's server can be contacted but delivery by the
recipient's server to the recipient is unsuccessful, the recipient's
server is responsible for returning an error to the sender by way of
the sender's server.
If a client does not specify a 'to' address on a stanza, it is
implied that the stanza is meant to be handled by the sender's server
on behalf of the sender. Although this functionality is normally not
used in the case of message stanzas, it is quite common with regard
to both presence and IQ stanzas. In the case of presence stanzas,
the user's presence information is normally sent from the client to
the user's server without a 'to' attribute, and subsequently
broadcasted to all entities that are subscribed to the sender's
presence information using a classic publish-subscribe model. In the
case of IQ stanzas, requests in many extended namespaces (e.g.,
jabber:iq:roster) are normally sent from the client to the server
without a 'to' attribute, and handled by the server on behalf of the
user (e.g., to manage roster information stored by the server).
If a user's client would like to request information about the user's
server itself (e.g., for the purpose of service discovery), it MUST
include the server's JID in the 'to' address of the IQ request.
9.2 Server Handling of XML Stanzas
Any appropriate privacy rules (Section 8) SHOULD be applied by the
server first. Following the application of any privacy rules, XML
stanzas that are not handled directly by a server (e.g., for the
purpose of data storage or rebroadcasting) MUST be routed or
delivered to the intended recipient of the stanza as represented by a
JID in the 'to' attribute. The following rules apply:
o If the JID contains a resource identifier (to="user@domain/
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resource"), the stanza is delivered first to the resource that
exactly matches the resource identifier.
o If the JID contains a resource identifier and there are no
matching resources, but there are other connected resources
associated with the user, then message stanzas are further
processed as if no resource is specified (see next item). For all
other stanzas, the server SHOULD return to the sender a
error of class "recipient" in the
'urn:ietf:params:xml:ns:xmpp-stanzas' namespace.
o If the JID contains only a user@domain and there is at least one
connected resource available for the user, the server SHOULD
deliver the stanza to an appropriate resource based on the
availability state, priority, and connect time of the connected
resource(s). (For instance, the server MAY deliver the stanza to
the resource with the highest value for the element,
and decide between resources of equal priority based on most
recent connect time or most recent activity time; however, all
such rules are implementation-specific.)
o If the JID contains only a user@domain and there are no connected
resources available for the user (e.g., an IM user is offline),
the server MAY choose to store the stanza on behalf of the user
and deliver the stanza when a resource becomes available for that
user. If offline storage is not enabled, the server MUST return
to the sender a error of class "server" in
the 'urn:ietf:params:xml:ns:xmpp-stanzas' namespace. Note:
offline storage is not defined in XMPP since it is a matter of
implementation.
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10. IANA Considerations
For IANA considerations, refer to the relevant section of XMPP Core
[1].
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11. Security Considerations
For security considerations, refer to the relevant section of XMPP
Core [1].
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References
[1] Saint-Andre, P. and J. Miller, "XMPP Core (draft-ietf-xmpp-core-
07, work in progress)", April 2003.
[2] Day, M., Aggarwal, S., Mohr, G. and J. Vincent, "A Model for
Presence and Instant Messaging", RFC 2779, February 2000,
.
[3] Jabber Software Foundation, "Jabber Software Foundation", August
2001, .
[4] Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate Requirement
Levels", BCP 14, RFC 2119, March 1997.
[5] Day, M., Rosenberg, J. and H. Sugano, "A Model for Presence and
Instant Messaging", RFC 2778, February 2000, .
[6] Dawson, F. and T. Howes, "vCard MIME Directory Profile", RFC
2426, September 1998.
Authors' Addresses
Peter Saint-Andre
Jabber Software Foundation
EMail: stpeter@jabber.org
URI: http://www.jabber.org/people/stpeter.php
Jeremie Miller
Jabber Software Foundation
EMail: jeremie@jabber.org
URI: http://www.jabber.org/people/jer.php
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Appendix A. vCards
Sections 3.1.3 and 4.1.4 of RFC 2779 [2] require that it be possible
to retrieve non-IM contact information for other users (e.g.,
telephone number or email address). An XML representation of the
vCard specification defined in RFC 2426 [6] is in common use within
the Jabber community to provide such information. Documentation of
this protocol is maintained by the Jabber Software Foundation [3] at
.
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Appendix B. XML Schemas
B.1 jabber:iq:auth
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B.2 jabber:iq:auth:error
B.3 jabber:iq:last
B.4 jabber:iq:privacy
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B.5 jabber:iq:privacy:error
B.6 jabber:iq:roster
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Appendix C. Revision History
Note to RFC editor: please remove this entire appendix, and the
corresponding entries in the table of contents, prior to publication.
C.1 Changes from draft-ietf-xmpp-im-06
o Specified that IQ result stanzas are required in response to
roster pushes.
o Changed stanza error namespace names to conform to the format
defined in "The IETF XML Registry" as specified in XMPP Core.
o Removed note to RFC editor regarding provisional namespace names.
C.2 Changes from draft-ietf-xmpp-im-05
o Removed use of ask='unsubscribe' per list discussion.
o Clarified handling of resource conflict during authorization.
o Added schemas for jabber:iq:auth, jabber:iq:auth:error, and
jabber:iq:privacy:error.
o Corrected several small protocol errors in the examples.
o Clarified semantics of message types.
C.3 Changes from draft-ietf-xmpp-im-04
o Specified sending of unavailable presence after unsubscribe and
subscription-cancellation actions.
o Further specified syntax and business rules for privacy lists.
o Brought error codes into line with definitions in draft-ietf-xmpp-
core.
o Added note to RFC editor regarding provisional namespace names.
o Removed vCard content and DTD, instead pointing to JSF
documentation.
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C.4 Changes from draft-ietf-xmpp-im-03
o Fixed order processing on privacy rules per list discussion.
o Made numerous small editorial changes.
C.5 Changes from draft-ietf-xmpp-im-02
o Added a great deal more detail to the narrative regarding server-
side privacy rules as well as the interaction between rosters and
subscriptions.
o Removed DTDs in favor of schemas (with the exception of vCard
XML).
o Removed non-normative documentation of authentication using
jabber:iq:auth and of in-band registration using
jabber:iq:register, since these are maintained by the Jabber
Software Foundation and are not part of the XMPP specification.
C.6 Changes from draft-ietf-xmpp-im-01
o Made numerous small editorial changes.
C.7 Changes from draft-ietf-xmpp-im-00
o Moved registration and authentication via jabber:iq:auth to non-
normative appendices.
o Changed initial presence stanza from MUST be empty to SHOULD be
empty.
o Specified that user or clients should not send presence stanzas of
type 'probe'.
o Specified the algorithm for digest passwords.
C.8 Changes from draft-miller-xmpp-im-02
o Added information about the 'jabber:iq:last' protocol to meet the
requirement defined in section 3.2.4 of RFC 2779.
o Added information about the 'jabber:iq:privacy' protocol to meet
the requirement defined in section 2.3.5 of RFC 2779.
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o Added information about the vCard XML protocol to meet the
requirement defined in sections 3.1.3 and 4.1.4 of RFC 2779.
o Changed the material describing authentication (but not resource
authorization) with 'jabber:iq:auth' to non-normative.
o Noted that the only watchers are subscribers.
o Nomenclature changes: (1) from "chunks" to "stanzas"; (2) from
"host" to "server"; (3) from "node" to "client" or "user" (as
appropriate).
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Full Copyright Statement
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