Real-Time and Peer-to-Peer Communication

This group gathers pioneers of computer networking whose primary contribution was real-time and decentralized communication between users, including peer-to-peer file sharing networks, voice and video over IP, instant messaging and chat protocols such as Internet Relay Chat, and early online communities built around real-time or near-real-time exchange. Their shared work is direct, live or decentralized communication between end users, as distinct from the underlying transport protocols of Internet Protocols and Routing or the institutional governance of Internet Governance and Standards.