by an open federated protocol I understand the likes of email or xmpp, or TCP, for that matter. Standardized and developed by an independent entity, for better

by an open federated protocol I understand the likes of email or xmpp, or TCP, for that matter. Standardized and developed by an independent entity, for better or worse. Where the power of any single developer is checked by other developers and the standards body. Currently, matrix.org owners can unilaterally change the protocol in any way they like, upgrading their server that hosts the vast majority of users, and all the other independent implementations would be left in the dust. Until this is possible, it is not really a protocol, it's more like a private API available on multiple instances.