Is AP the "right protocol", well, we shall see. i happen to think that, not so different from, say, smtp or imap, while AP does have some issues, i think AP will be *good enough*. I say, good enough, in order to get started, to get momentum...once that happens, then yes, things can be optimized...and by then the value of federation for things like code forges will be obvious, and then the next phases will be more about optimization - both technical and otherwise.