(unrelated to crypto, but) that's how we got XMPP. Back in '99, there was an IETF working group tasked with creating a chat protocol, with members from all the

(unrelated to crypto, but) that's how we got XMPP. Back in '99, there was an IETF working group tasked with creating a chat protocol, with members from all the players at the time (AOL, Microsoft, IBM, Netscape, and a few more). I wasn't part of the wg, but I did follow it closely, and it was clear that some big players only cared about making their own product (as close as possible to) the standard (e.g. Microsoft), and the biggest player (AOL) was just actively sabotaging the process in order to prolong their advantage. Eventually, the group disbanded, and the mostly-working protocol at the time (Jabber -> XMPP) was adopted. It was a horrible ultra verbose under specified mess (and in some cases still is). But it was there, it was working, and it was open.