Re: [hybi] New mailing list: hybi (HTTP "long poll" and related protocols)

[Ian Hickson <[e-mail]>]

On Tue, 31 Mar 2009, Mark Nottingham wrote:
>
> As discussed in the APPS area meeting last week, a new mailing list has 
> been created to discuss the standards implications and actions related 
> to HTTP "long poll" techniques (e.g., COMET, BOSH) as well as new 
> protocols that serve similar use cases (e.g., WebSockets, rHTTP).

Thanks!

I notice the description of the list is "Server-Initiated HTTP", while at 
least some of the techniques proposed, in particular Web Socket, are only 
tangentially related to HTTP (WebSocket is a client-initiated Web-aware 
bidirectional socket, it's not server-initiated and the HTTP aspect is 
just an optional bootstrapping mechanism). Is the scope intended to 
include or exclude long-term discussion of such solutions?

Also, what is the process by which discussion on this list can result in a 
standards-track document? Browser vendors have started asking me about 
implementing WebSocket or whatever replaces it, so a clear picture of how 
we get to something stable sooner rather than later would be very helpful. 
(It is an unfortunate reality that once we have multiple implementations 
of a feature, the spec becomes stable by necessity, regardless of whether 
we have had the proper time to review it or not.)

-- 
Ian Hickson               U+1047E                )\._.,--....,'``.    fL
http://ln.hixie.ch/       U+263A                /,   _.. \   _\  ;`._ ,.
Things that are impossible just take longer.   `._.-(,_..'--(,_..'`-.;.'