[guardian-dev] offline OTR msgs

Dev Random c1.devrandom at niftybox.net
Thu Dec 5 13:08:59 EST 2013


On 13-12-03 04:54 PM, shmick at riseup.net wrote:
> hello all,
>
> using gibberbot with the force/require chat encryption option, i have a
> lot of problems messaging when people go/come offline
>
> in memory message storage is also enabled
>
> do only certain jabber servers support offline message delivery ?

Most servers support it transparently, but I'm not sure if all do.  For
example, I've seen gmail return error 503.

> is it client dependent too ?

I don't think so.

>
> here's an example:
>
> lets say i chat with somebody using the same server
> i open a new chat window; either i start by pressing the lock button or
> just send text and i find that chat encryption automatically initiates
> in both scenarios
> we initially chat ok and are both online with green encrypted status
> then, they go offline/lose connectivity
> our chat windows are still open
>
> -> will messages be delivered to me later when im online, and, what
> happens if i close the chat window & log out- will i still receive them
> when i log in next time ?

If you restart the app, you will lose the OTR state and any encrypted
offline messages will not be readable (you will see "unreadable
encrypted message" errors).  Otherwise, the messages should be delivered
normally when you log in again, but see XEP-0198 below.

> -> does the server need to support this ?
> -> does the client need to support this ?
> -> what happens to the entire session itself; lets say they go offline
> only momentarily and fleetingly; will messages be delivered without any
> need for re-initialisation, or what have you ?

Message delivery reliability is a different topic.  See XEP-0198.  gmail
does not support this unfortunately.  The Prosody IM server software
does have a module for this, and is recommended.  XEP-0184 (end-to-end)
is also useful to tell when the other side received your message, but
only ChatSecure has built-in support for it.  There is an experimental
extension for Pidgin.

> -> how will i know the other person is offline because sometimes i don't
> see this status update (offline) in the chat window ?

ChatSecure should always update the status, and if it doesn't it's a bug.

>
> i assume this would be complicated even more chatting with people on
> different servers with different software
>
> appologies in advance - this is not strictly a technical or dev query

This is a very good topic, especially for the mobile use case.

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