<remark><p>Equalized treatment of different message types (chat and groupchat not preferred over normal); required the use of UUIDs; specified use of In-Reply-To header; added Kevin Smith as co-author.</p></remark>
<p>Although message threads are re-used in XMPP extension protocols such as &xep0085; and &xep0155;, the semantics of message threads have never been well specified (e.g., in &rfc3921;). This document attempts to clearly specify the meaning and handling of message threads for implementation by XMPP clients and for potential inclusion in &rfc3921bis;.</p>
<li>Track conversation topics within the context of a one-to-one chat session, a &xep0045; room, or exchange of normal messages.</li>
<li>Restart a conversation from message history.</li>
<li>Enable clients to distinguish between different conversation threads when presenting a user's message, chat, and groupchat histories, thus providing a more coherent user interface (e.g. by collapsing threads to a single history entry).</li>
<li>Separate logical sessions from physical interface objects such as windows.</li>
<li>Route XMPP stanzas internally (e.g., dispatching different content types to different windows), thus facilitating the creation of more robust plugin architectures.</li>
</ul>
</section1>
<section1topic='Semantics'anchor='semantics'>
<p>Section 2.1.2.3 of <cite>RFC 3920</cite> currently states the following regarding the semantics of the ThreadID:</p>
<pclass='indent'>The <thread/> element contains non-human-readable XML character data specifying an identifier that is used for tracking a conversation thread (sometimes referred to as an "instant messaging session") between two entities.</p>
<p>The description in <cite>RFC 3921</cite> is deemed to be too limiting, since it ignores the potential use of the ThreadID when exchanging message stanzas of types other than 'chat'. Therefore we proposal the following description:</p>
<pclass='indent'>The primary use of the XMPP <thread/> element is to uniquely identify a conversation thread or "chat session" between two entities instantiated by <message/> stanzas of type 'chat'. However, the XMPP <thread/> element may also be used to uniquely identify an analogous thread between two entities instantiated by <message/> stanzas of type 'headline' or 'normal', or among multiple entities in the context of a multi-user chat room instantiated by <message/> stanzas of type 'groupchat'. It may also be used for <message/> stanzas not related to a conversation, such as a game session or between plugins.</p>
<p>Section 2.1.2.3 of <cite>RFC 3920</cite> currently states the following uniqueness requirement:</p>
<pclass='indent'>The value of the <thread/> element ... MUST be unique to that conversation thread within the stream and MUST be consistent throughout that conversation (a client that receives a message from the same full JID but with a different thread ID MUST assume that the message in question exists outside the context of the existing conversation thread).</p>
<p>The uniqueness requirement in <cite>RFC 3921</cite> is not deemed strong enough since it is desirable that a ThreadID could be used to (for instance) restart a conversation at a later date. Therefore we propose the following uniqueness requirement:</p>
<p>In the context of <message/> stanzas of type 'chat' exchanged between two entities, the value of the <thread/> element shall be considered equivalent to a unique identifier for the chat session or conversation thread. If an entity receives such a message with a new or unknown ThreadID, it SHOULD treat the message as part of a session with unnegotiated parameters (i.e., as equivalent to the first message in a chat session that has been negotiated via <cite>XEP-0155</cite> with no parameters specified). An entity SHOULD destroy the thread when it sends or receives a <cite>XEP-0155</cite> "terminate" action and MAY destroy the thread when it goes offline, but SHOULD NOT destroy the thread if a human user merely closes a window in a client interface.</p>
<p>When sending a <message/> stanza of type 'normal', the value of the <thread/> element is used to uniquely identify a conversation thread which may not be progressing in real-time. A <message/> stanza of type 'normal' SHOULD always use a new <thread/> element identifier unless it is written in direct reply to another <message/> stanza, in which case the <thread/> element of the original <message/> should be used. Determining what constitutes a <message/> stanza written in reply to another is a matter left to individual implementation, but it is envisaged that in most cases it would be the result of, e.g., the user clicking a 'reply' button when reading the contents of the previous stanza; alternatively, the entity that replies can include an "In-Reply-To" header as described in the <linkurl='#impl'>Implementation Notes</link> section of this document.</p>
<p>To ensure the uniqueness of ThreadIDs in the context of a multi-user chat room, the multi-use chat service MAY provide a way for room occupants to request a unique ThreadID; definition of such methods is out of scope for this specification.</p>
<p>There are no special handling requirements related to threads in the context of <message/> stanzas of type 'headline'.</p>
<p>When displaying historical conversations within a user interface, a client SHOULD provide a visual indication of thread membership of messages. Methods for such indications include (non-exhaustively) the grouping of all messages within a thread together, providing an index of threads, or formatting all messages within a thread in a cohesive manner, e.g. with a uniform coloring.</p>
<p>Depending on the type of the message (i.e., the value of the 'type' attribute), the <thread/> should be included as follows:</p>
<tablecaption='When to Include Threads'>
<tr>
<th>Message Type</th>
<th>Inclusion</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>chat</td>
<td>RECOMMENDED</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>groupchat</td>
<td>OPTIONAL</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>headline</td>
<td>OPTIONAL</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>normal</td>
<td>OPTIONAL</td>
</tr>
</table>
</section1>
<section1topic='SHIM Header'anchor='shim'>
<p>In some contexts it may be desirable to enforce thread-like semantics when exchanging XMPP <iq/> stanzas. Because <cite>RFC 3920</cite> disallows more than one direct child element of the <iq/> stanza, it is not possible to include the <thread/> element for tracking purposes. Therefore we define a "ThreadID" &xep0131; header with the same semantics as the <thread/> element, but with the syntax of a SHIM header:</p>
<p>An entity that generates the UUID used as the ThreadID MUST ensure that the UUID does not reveal personally-identifying information about the entity.</p>
