John Bäckstrand wrote:

I say, let Arne decide the format of the protocol
(Why? I think he has shown us that he is good at ignoring what others think
about things/deciding things for others), but let us all discuss what the
protocol should actually _do_.
 

This was an excellent point when I first read it, it's time I responded.

These are some of the ideas that I'd like to be possible under any new protocol:

   * Metadata returning in/with search search results
   * Metadata about files contained in share lists
   * Searching by metadata (including at the least the ability to
     return a mp3 hit when only some portion of the ID3 tag is matched)
     (DC++ will filter these results currently)
   * Partial file sharing (with arbitrary ranges of the file completed
     - not necessarily just the first X bytes)
   * Upload queues (yes more than one, and on arbitrary file/user
     characteristics [like a partial file queue that would push through
     partial file requests quickly])
   * Per-client karma/"ratings" system for rewarding downloads
   * Source exchange, at least of clients you've seen on the same hub
     (to avoid information leakages about clients you've seen on
     non-public hubs)
   * Hashing compatible with one of the web-based metadata
     concentrators - like bitzi.com

These are bullet items... most of them have been fleshed out.  Don't bother trying to argue against them; these are my suggestions on what the protocol should do.

From the ADC drafts so far, none of these features are ruled out by it.

- Todd