XMPP Standards Foundation
XMPP Standards Foundation is the foundation in charge of the standardization of the protocol extensions of XMPP, the open standard of instant messaging and presence of the IETF.
History
The XSF was originally called the Jabber Software Foundation. The Jabber Software Foundation was originally established to provide an independent, non-profit, legal entity to support the development community around Jabber technologies. Originally its main focus was on developing JOSL, the Jabber Open Source License, and an open standards process for documenting the protocols used in the Jabber/XMPP developer community. Its founders included Michael Bauer and Peter Saint-Andre.Timeline
- 1999–2001: Jeremie Miller announces Jabber, an open instant messaging technology. Open-source servers, clients, and libraries are developed. In 2001, the JSF is formally established to coordinate projects and protocol development.
- 2002–2004: JSF contributes Jabber protocols to the IETF, forming the XMPP Working Group. Core XMPP protocols are standardized in RFC 3920 and RFC 3921.
- 2005–2007: JSF participates in Google Summer of Code, and large-scale XMPP services like Google Talk are deployed. The JSF is renamed XMPP Standards Foundation in 2007.
- 2006–present: XSF organizes regular XMPP Summits, continues Google Summer of Code participation, and oversees the development of XMPP Extension Protocols. Notable achievements include updates to XMPP core RFCs and expansion into areas like IoT.
Process
Members of the XSF vote on acceptance of new members, a technical Council, and a Board of Directors. However, membership is not required to publish, view, or comment on the standards that it promulgates. The unit of work at the XSF is the XMPP Extension Protocol ; XEP-0001 specifies the process for XEPs to be accepted by the community. Most of the work of the XSF takes place on the XMPP Extension Discussion List, the and the .Organization
Board of directors
The Board of Directors of the XMPP Standards Foundation oversees the business affairs of the organization. As elected by the XSF membership. As of 2025, the Board of Directors consists of the following individuals:Dave CridlandEdward MaurerRalph MeijerFlorian Schmaus- '''Arne-Bruen Vogelsang'''
Council
The XMPP Council is the technical steering group that approves XMPP Extension Protocols, as governed by the and . The Council is elected by the members of the XMPP Standards Foundation each year in September. As of 2025, the XMPP Council is composed of the following members:Dan CaseleyDaniel GultschMarvin WissfeldStephen Paul Weber- '''Jérôme Poisson'''
Members
There are currently 55 elected members of the XSF.Emeritus Members
The following individuals are emeritus members of the XMPP Standards Foundation:Peter Millard Dave SmithJeremie MillerJulian MissigRyan Eatmon- '''Thomas Muldowney'''
XEPs
One of the most important outputs of the XSF is a series of "XEPs", or XMPP Extension Protocols, auxiliary protocols defining additional features. Some have chosen to pronounce "XEP" as if it were spelled "JEP", rather than "ZEP", in order to keep with a sense of tradition. Some XEPs of note include:Data FormsService DiscoveryMulti-User ChatPublish-SubscribeXHTML-IMEntity CapabilitiesBidirectional-streams Over Synchronous HTTP (BOSH)Jingle- '''Serverless Messaging'''