On the Windows and Macintosh platforms, Jabber is the instant messaging system that allows MIT users to communicate with one another and Jabber users elsewhere on the Internet.
On Athena, there are two primary messaging services: Zephyr and Jabber. Zephyr is used internally at MIT but Jabber can be used to communicate both with other MIT users and with other chat services that use the Jabber protocol (such as Google Talk/Gmail Chat).
Benefits
The MIT Jabber service:
- Offers both individual and group text messaging options
- Supports creation and joining of chat rooms for group communication.
- Includes support for other instant messaging systems such as AIM (AOL) and YIM (Yahoo).
Zephyr is built-in to Athena, and has a larger student user community than Jabber.
Key Features
- Jabber: Read What is Jabber?
- Zephyr: Learn more about Zephyr on Athena.
Requirements
To use Jabber on a Windows or Macintosh operating system, you need to install an IM client.
- Macintosh: Adium X
- Windows: Pidgin
For Athena, there are two options:
Getting Started
On Athena, everything is built in, so you can just get started, or learn more about IM on Athena if you need some guidance.
On Macintosh or Windows, configure either Pidgin or Adium with the following Jabber settings:
- Server (domain): mit.edu
- Connect Server: jabber.mit.edu
- Port Number: 5222
- Username: your MIT Kerberos ID
- Security: Use TLS Encryption, if possible