This site provides the description, and eventual launching point for a new chat protocol.
At the core of the protocol is the arc message, described here:
PoW nonce
[
version string
timestamp
destination (pubkey hash of recipient)
AES key sealed with destination key
encrypted payload
[
context
message
reply key
from (pubkey hash of sender)
signature(context, message, reply key, from, timestamp)
]
]
Messages in this format can be passed around a global network of arc relays until they arrive at their intended destination. Relays must implement a standard pub/sub interface, but otherwise may implement their own strategies for privacy vs availability according to the needs of the node operator, and clients can select which nodes they use to interact with the network. It is intended that all communications are done with JSON using standard HTTP GET and POST messages, over HTTPS connections. A client should be able to do everything they need to do with standard javascript to make it as easy as possible to develop portable clients. Messages between nodes can be passed around according to hypercube routing rules.