RIA (the acronym) has jumped the shark. I find that I can no longer use RIA to describe anything anymore. The definition has been watered down and twisted to the point that nearly any application can be called RIA.

I agree. Finkle names names of Adobe and Microsoft software evangelists pushing proprietary app frameworks that have obfuscated the meaning of RIA and, in their wake, the user-centric, community-directed utility promise of the RIA class.

However, I don’t follow Mark’s conclusion to retire the term RIA. The term has currency and fluency; Let’s re-appropriate, replenish and sharpen it. With a new definition, Firefox, Thunderbird and Songbird are practical and aspirational leaders of the RIA class.

The key is to emphasize the I in RIA. The Internet is global network of community-centric client-server systems including the Web, email, DNS, etc. An RIA implements the client-side of at least one of these Internet systems.

Also, the R in RIA should be measured by “richness” found in exemplary IAs, Firefox first among them. The metric is user utility and community adoption of the client. Firefox’s open source, vibrant community, Open Web manifesto, widespread adoption and 5,000+ community-contributed add-ons establish a very high “richness” bar.

With this definition it’s easy to discern the real RIAs from the wishful: RIAs implement the client-side of Internet methods, formats and protocols. In the Web client-server system, RIAs are better known as user-agents or Web browsers. In the email client-server sytem, RIAs are better known as email clients.

By this definition, is Twirl, a useful desktop app for Twitter built from Adobe AIR, a RIA? No, it’s a proprietary app, platform and service integration. However, if someone built an desktop IM-like client from the open source Mozilla stack that posted your Twitter-like status to your OpenID via Attribute Exchange and thus accessible to all Twitter-like status tracking services like Twitter — that would be a really cool RIA.

Your comments are welcomed!