“America Online has submitted a proposal for a protocol that
would allow its instant messaging services to interoperate with
similar services from other vendors.”
“AOL sent its 18-page proposal Thursday to an Internet
Engineering Task Force (IETF) working group that is trying to
establish standards for instant messaging. The working group had
set Thursday as the deadline for proposals for the Instant
Messaging and Presence Protocol (IMPP). The goal is to create a
standard that will establish interoperability between AIM (AOL
Instant Messenger), AOL’s ICQ instant messaging product, and other
instant messaging software.”
“In its proposal, Dulles, Va.-based AOL said it was
“reaffirming” its commitment to interoperability.“
“We think that this submission represents a significant first
step toward developing more detailed protocols for implementing the
kind of full interoperability that we all would like to see,” the
proposal said.”