• Didn’t XMPP just lose to better messenger competition then?

      It is perfectly valid to describe the outcome this way. I agree this is indeed the case. Google Talk gave way to other options deemed better too. Actually it did not gain much traction in my country either.

      But I guess it is the sucking of XMPP users and the whole feeling of getting “betrayed” that makes people holding a grudge toward megacorps Google-alike.