This is generally why we require explainers. Part of the point of this launch process is ensuring we've got the public material for web developers to understand the feature. Harald can you post an explainer somewhere which includes answers to Rob's questions?
Thanks, Rick On Wed, Jan 21, 2026 at 9:30 AM Robert Flack <[email protected]> wrote: > The specification just says "alwaysNegotiateDataChannels defines a way for > the application to negotiate data channels in the SDP offer before creating > a datachannel". I'm finding it a bit hard to reason about what this means > for me as a developer. I.e. when should I set it and how does this change > the connection? Does this mean that a data channel will be negotiated > without calling createDataChannel? Will that requested datachannel result > in a datachannel event or does my code still need to call > createDataChannel? If the latter, is this a performance optimization? Would > I choose this when data is more important to connect first rather than > e.g. voice / video? > > The linked tracking bug <https://issues.chromium.org/433898678> appears > to be a chrome-only bug report with a particular demo that doesn't use the > alwaysNegotiateDataChannels attribute and works on Firefox. I don't quite > understand what the new configuration extension has to do with the original > bug report. > > > On Wed, Jan 21, 2026 at 6:31 AM 'Philipp Hancke' via blink-dev < > [email protected]> wrote: > >> *tContact emails* >> [email protected], [email protected] >> >> *Specification* >> https://w3c.github.io/webrtc-extensions/#always-negotiating-datachannels >> >> *Summary* >> Implement >> https://w3c.github.io/webrtc-extensions/#always-negotiating-datachannels >> >> *Blink component* >> Blink>WebRTC >> <https://issues.chromium.org/issues?q=customfield1222907:%22Blink%3EWebRTC%22> >> >> *Web Feature ID* >> Missing feature >> >> *TAG review status* >> Not applicable (incremental addition to WebRTC) >> >> *Risks* >> *Interoperability and Compatibility* >> *No information provided* >> >> *Gecko*: No signal ( >> https://github.com/mozilla/standards-positions/issues/1335) >> >> *WebKit*: No signal ( >> https://github.com/WebKit/standards-positions/issues/599) >> >> *Web developers*: No signals >> >> >> *Will this feature be supported on all six Blink platforms (Windows, Mac, >> Linux, ChromeOS, Android, and Android WebView)?* >> Yes >> >> *Is this feature fully tested by web-platform-tests >> <https://chromium.googlesource.com/chromium/src/+/main/docs/testing/web_platform_tests.md>?* >> Yes, a WPT is part of >> https://chromium-review.googlesource.com/c/chromium/src/+/7080041 >> >> *Rollout plan* >> Will ship enabled for all users >> >> *Requires code in //chrome?* >> False >> >> *Tracking bug* >> https://issues.chromium.org/issues/433898678 >> >> *Estimated milestones* >> Shipping on desktop 146 >> >> *Link to entry on the Chrome Platform Status* >> https://chromestatus.com/feature/5113419982307328?gate=6516338099093504 >> >> This intent message was generated by Chrome Platform Status >> <https://chromestatus.com/>. >> >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "blink-dev" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to [email protected]. >> To view this discussion visit >> https://groups.google.com/a/chromium.org/d/msgid/blink-dev/CADxkKiKuE79-xWUFiO9NCy%2Big9Pvn1oi6fVbkdomFLo4--bJQw%40mail.gmail.com >> <https://groups.google.com/a/chromium.org/d/msgid/blink-dev/CADxkKiKuE79-xWUFiO9NCy%2Big9Pvn1oi6fVbkdomFLo4--bJQw%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >> . >> > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "blink-dev" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To view this discussion visit > https://groups.google.com/a/chromium.org/d/msgid/blink-dev/CAJh39TPTxV5evdFUMnmfQE3aP2siNXNSZVpBr8wBitT56-nFCQ%40mail.gmail.com > <https://groups.google.com/a/chromium.org/d/msgid/blink-dev/CAJh39TPTxV5evdFUMnmfQE3aP2siNXNSZVpBr8wBitT56-nFCQ%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "blink-dev" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/a/chromium.org/d/msgid/blink-dev/CAFUtAY8oBKB9h7YWYF_kOz0bk22_pbMRF5hSR1NyQUHOMmEGRw%40mail.gmail.com.
