Comparison of instant messaging protocols - General information - Encyclopedia II

Basic general information about the protocols: creator, version, etc.

Note 1: In ~usr@a.b.com, the a.b.com part is known as the "hostmask" and can either be the server being connected from or a "cloak" granted by the server administrator; a more realistic example is ~myname@myisp.example.com. The tilde generally indicates that the username provided by the IRC client on signon was not verified with the ident service.

Note 2: In usr@a.b.c/home, the home part is a "resource", which distinguishes the same user when logged in from multiple locations, possibly simultaneously; a more realistic example is user@jabberserver.example.com/home

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "General information", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page