WCMC Talk

A: WCMC Talk is a service providing instant messaging (IM) between Medical College staff, faculty, and students. The service provides the same quick communication as traditional instant messaging networks, tailored specifically for the WCMC community. WCMC Talk allows users to quickly, easily, and securely communicate with each other, either in a one-to-one conversation or multi-user conference.

A: Jabber (sometimes referred to as 'XMPP') is an open standard for instant messaging. Created in 1998, Jabber provides an open alternative to single-vendor IM solutions such as Microsoft Live or AOL IM. You can learn more about it at jabber.org.

WCMC Talk is a Jabber-based service.

A: This feature, called "federation", has not been enabled due to security concerns. WCMC Talk only allows you to talk to other users within the college community.

A: This feature, sometimes called "gateways", has not been enabled due to security concerns. WCMC Talk does not route traffic to any other IM protocol.

A: Yes. Spark users can engage in audio chats with other Spark users. Other clients that offer such functionality, such as iChat AV, will typically only work with same clients. Consult your client's documentation for more details.

A: If you are using Spark, you can contact ITS Support to receive assistance.

Clients other than Spark are not directly supported by ITS. We strive to make every reasonable effort to allow other clients to connect, but ITS Support will not be able to help with specific functionality or connectivity concerns. Please refer to the Using Other Clients page for details. If you require further troubleshooting assistance for such clients, please seek help with the original vendor or developer.