XEP-0423: abstract and introduction

xep-0423.xml

@@ -14,7 +14,9 @@
   <header>
     <title>XMPP Compliance Suites 2020</title>
     <abstract>
-      This document defines XMPP protocol compliance levels.
+      This document defines XMPP application categories for different use cases
+      (Core, Web, IM, and Mobile), and specifies the required XEPs that client and
+      server software needs to implement for compliance with the use cases.
     </abstract>
     &LEGALNOTICE;
     <number>0423</number>
@@ -78,16 +80,31 @@
   </header>
   <section1 topic='Introduction' anchor='intro'>
     <p>
-      The &XSF; defines protocol suites for the purpose of compliance testing
-      and software certification.
-      This document specifies compliance levels for XMPP clients and servers; it
-      is hoped that this document will advance the state of the art, and provide
-      guidance and eventual certification to XMPP client and server authors.
+      There is a growing number of XMPP Extension Protocols (XEPs) that provide
+      different building blocks for XMPP-based applications. XMPP software
+      developers are confronted with the challenge of finding the right
+      combination of XEPs for a given application profile. Users need a way to
+      compare applications without resorting to comparing for individual XEP
+      numbers.
     </p>
     <p>
-      This document defines <strong>Categories</strong> based on
+      This document defines XMPP application <strong>Categories</strong> based on
       typical use cases (Core, Web, IM, Mobile) and <strong>Levels</strong>
-      (Core, Advanced) based on functionality in the respective category.
+      (Core, Advanced) based on functionality in the respective category. For
+      each combination of those, the required XEPs are referenced. As the
+      protocol landscape changes over time, this document is updated roughly
+      once a year.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      For developers, this document provides guidance on which specifications
+      they need to consider when implementing an application of a certain kind.
+      By completing a compliance test or performing a self-assessment, they can
+      advertise their implementation as compliant with a given Category and
+      Level.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      For users, this provides an easy way to compare implementations based on
+      their respective advertised compliance levels and year.
     </p>
     <p>
       Unless explicitly noted, support for the listed specifications is REQUIRED