Stronger XMPP federation features

[daniele-athome]

• add user-defined JIDs
• service discovery for Kontalk-specific capabilities (e.g. encryption)

[h-2]

FWIW even if Kontalk federates with regular jabber servers, I think the server should not keep track of your contact list and you should not be able to "add user". Instead Kontalk should add jabber users if the android contact includes a jabber account for someone.

I am also a little worried that including outside jabber users weakens the crypto. Right now I can tell everyone: "If you use Kontalk, everything will be safe". If regular jabber is supported it would be important to have other crypto, as well, like OTR. Non-encrypted chat should be off by default IMHO,

[daniele-athome]

FWIW even if Kontalk federates with regular jabber servers, I think the server should not keep track of your contact list and you should not be able to "add user".

Why not?

I am also a little worried that including outside jabber users weakens the crypto. Right now I can tell everyone: "If you use Kontalk, everything will be safe". If regular jabber is supported it would be important to have other crypto, as well, like OTR. Non-encrypted chat should be off by default IMHO,

This can be regulated in the app somehow, by warning users or blocking unencrypted messages until the user explicitly approves them.

[h-2]

FWIW even if Kontalk federates with regular jabber servers, I think the server should not keep track of your contact list and you should not be able to "add user".

Why not?

Because this way all relevant data is stored on the user side (in the address book) and not on the server. For example in the conversations chat client, some of the people represent people in my address book, some of them don't and some of them do, but the accounts are not connected and a different picture is shown. This is very confusing for the user, the behaviour should always be the same!

This can be regulated in the app somehow, by warning users or blocking unencrypted messages until the user explicitly approves them.

Yes, that would be good!

[ameenross]

I was just trying to connect another XMPP account to my Kontalk account, and I noticed that I can send messages to Kontalk (unencrypted of course), but Kontalk won't send messages back (complains about missing public key).

Is that at least easy to "fix"? I know that means degrading the encryption.

[pravi]

@ameenross you'll have to disable encryption for now. If either #633 or #376 is implemented, encryption will become interoperable.

[daniele-athome]

Sorry @ameenross, but @pravi is right, although I think you made a typo: #376 refers to a different matter (maybe you meant #271?).

[pravi]

@daniele-athome I meant #132 (OMEMO).