Jabber Instant Messaging Service

Overview

Jabber is an instant messaging system that allows MIT users to communicate with one another and Jabber users elsewhere on the Internet. Jabber also supports creation and joining of chat rooms for group communication. Additionally, many Jabber clients include support for other instant messaging systems such as AIM (AOL) and YIM (Yahoo).

For more information about Jabber, see the Jabber Software foundation's What is Jabber? and Technical Overview.

Software

Settings

• Server (domain): mit.edu
• Connect Server: jabber.mit.edu
• Port Number: 5222
• Username: your MIT Kerberos ID
• Security: Use TLS Encryption, if possible

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Known Issues

• When you initiate a chat, many clients require that you specify the full domain. To contact somebody with the username oddball, you need to specify oddball@mit.edu. If you do not specify the full domain, the client may fail to initiate a chat without producing an error message.
  
  
• When configuring your account with Adium X, you must list your Jabber ID as @mit.edu or it will assume you are using a jabber.com account and fail to connect. For example, if your Kerberos ID is "oddball", you would enter "oddball@mit.edu" for Jabber ID.
  
  
• While iChat for MacOS 10.4 is not an IS&T supported jabber client, it will work with MIT's Jabber service. For configuration information, see: How do I configure iChat for MIT Jabber service on my MacOS X 10.4 machine?. When you connect with iChat, you may see a warning "Non-secure Jabber Login Your name and password will be sent in a way that is not secure. Do you still wish to connect to this server?" This error is likely the result of a bug in iChat. We believe your connection is secure regardless. Click continue to connect to MIT Jabber.
  
  
• As of July 2007, if your password has not been changed in a long time (before July 2000), you will be unable to login successfully to MIT Jabber until you change your password. For more details see: I know I'm typing my password correctly. Why am I getting errors when I try to login to jabber.mit.edu?

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Where to Go for Help

Note: Support is only provided for using the supported clients with the MIT Jabber service. No support is provided for accessing other messaging services such as YIM, AIM or external Jabber servers.

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