Some of your points are right, but some are not: > SV sets the standard. [...] end-to-end encryption by default is a critical necessity for any new standards

Some of your points are right, but some are not: > SV sets the standard. [...] end-to-end encryption by default is a critical necessity for any new standards No SV big player pushes for end-to-end encryption, save for whatsapp who have founders with personal reasons to do that. Everyone else is fine with some encryption, and optional end-to-end encryption > it was a mistake to use XML It's just a protocol. Nothing is perfect, and at least everyone knows how to work with XML. I wouldn't start with it today, but it wouldn't even be a bad choice (on technical terms) After having followed XMPP for years, the one reason that made it fail is that it didn't have a strong organization behind it to push for actual solutions to use. The WG is there to discuss standards, but doesn't have any opinion on which solutions to default on, on which XEPs to enforce and which to deprecate (fast), on where the whole things needs to go.