1. In a distributed system including an initiating message processor that is communicatively coupled to one or more other message processors such that the initiating message processor and the one or more other message processors can communicate by transferring electronic messages, a method for the initiating message processor to electronically negotiate properties of a communication channel with at least one of the other message processors, the method comprising: an act of identifying a type of content that is to be transferred between an initiating message processor and a receiving message processor, wherein the initializing message processor and receiving message processor each include a communication stack having an application layer and one or more lower layers, wherein identifying the type of content is performed upon establishing communication properties of a communication channel between an initiating application layer and a receiving application layer of the initiating message processor and the receiving message processor, respectively; based on the identified type of content, an act of identifying offer information that is included into an initial schema-based electronic offer that is to be used to electronically negotiate properties of a communication channel with the initiating application layer and the receiving application layer in order to identify an intersection of mutually supported communication options suitable for transporting the type of content identified, and by prioritizing communication options specified by a designer of a distributed application corresponding to the initializing application layer and receiving application layer over communication options for the one or more lower layers of the communication stack; an act of sending the initial schema-based electronic offer from the initiating application layer that includes the identified offer information to the receiving message processor, wherein sending the initial schema-based electronic offer includes sending a SOAP message using one or more lower-level protocols, with a header and/or body of the SOAP message including a schema-based document as the electronic offer; an act of receiving a schema-based electronic response that includes response information identified by the receiving application layer, the response information indicating a position of the receiving message processor with respect to the initial schema-based electronic offer; an act of determining whether electronic negotiations between the initiating message processor and the receiving message processor should continue based on the schema-based electronic response; an act of sending a second offer that includes a schema-based document, the schema-based document of the second offer including: a specification of a descriptive name for an offer in a form of a name attribute/value pair; an expires attribute value within the name attribute/value pair, and specifying a time and/or date value representing a time after which the second offer expires; an offer information element including descriptive information about the offer; at least one of a replaces sub-element indicating that descriptive information in the offer information element is to replace other offer information referenced by the replaces sub-element, or an augments sub-element indicating that the descriptive information in the offer information element augments other offer information referenced by the augments sub-element; and a reference sub-element defining a relationship between the descriptive information in the offer information element and other information referenced by the reference sub-element, the reference sub-element further including a reference used to locate other offer information and a type attribute/value pair identifying a type of specified relationship; and concluding negotiations between the initializing message processor and receiving message processor as soon as the communication properties of the communication channel with the initiating application layer and the receiving application layer are mutually agreed upon.