Hello Matrix newfriends! Welcome to the Glowers FAQ on Matrix, matrix.org and other things newfriends have trouble with.

[Matrix] is an internet chat protocol, it's the thing that allows you to say “nigger” and it'll appear on everyone else's computer screen. [Matrix], although developed by matrix.org, is not directly related as it is an open protocol that anyone can implement. Implementations of [Matrix] are called “homeservers”, and they handle federating your messages and rooms to users on other homeservers.

matrix.org is both the official homeserver, and the official website where information about the [Matrix] protocol is. Using matrix.org as your homeserver is not recommended by the vast majority of [Matrix] users as they selectively apply their rules, are uncooperative with other homeservers, and have previously mass-banned rooms for no reason. Numerous popular rooms will not be accessible if you use matrix.org as your homeserver

Although on the surface (and because matrix.org have no idea what they're doing), a lot of people conflate discord and Matrix as if Matrix is just discord but federated. This isn't true

Under the hood Matrix and Discord are radically different in terms of how both platforms work.

Channels and Rooms are the most similar due to both being based on IRC's channels. Whereas channels on discord can be treated as one massive array of messages and events, Rooms on Matrix are a hierarchical array where each event references the previous event.

Functionally, they are the same with one key difference. “Deleting” (redacting) a message on Matrix does not remove that message the same way it would for discord. This is a direct result of Matrix being both A) created as a successor to IRC, deletions were not intended initially, B) Due to how Rooms are structured, deleting an event would cause homeservers to be unable to construct a sane timeline, and C) Matrix is federated, so deleting an event would break federation.

Deletions (redactions) on Matrix will request all homeservers that participate in the room to remove all non-protocol-critical information about the event. Replies to a message will contain the exact content of the message, as a result, redacting a message because you accsidently'd your password in chat won't help you.

How your redaction appears:

Your redaction in reality:

Matrix Communities do not function as Guilds on Discord do. Whereas Discord Guilds are hierarchical collections of channels, Matrix communities are merely just a list of rooms. Matrix rooms don't have to be in a Community, whereas Discord channels must be part of a Guild.

Discord “Servers” (Guilds) are not the same as literal Matrix servers.

A “server” on discord is just called that for marketing reasons. A “server” on Matrix is a homeserver.

element.io (formerly Riot.im) is a client application that connects to [Matrix] homeservers. Other clients also exist such as Nheko and Quaternion. element.io is generally considered the most newfriend-friendly client as it supports most of all of what [Matrix] has to offer, and is often the first client to receive new [Matrix] features.

The official instance of element.io is https://element.io/app, however anyone can host an element.io instance. Most homeservers offer their own self-hosted version of element.io

Element by default hides “”““advanced””“” features behind the Labs setting panel. If you want to see Pinned messages and other such, here's a very quick guide:

1. Click the vertical dots next at the top right of your screen, then click “All Settings”.

2. Click the “Labs” tab

3. Toggle whatever Labs features you're interested in (some require a refresh)

Depending on the element instance you use, some of the flags shown may not appear in Labs. If you're using Element Desktop, the labs tab may not appear in settings. It's still possible to toggle labs on desktop though with some fiddling with localStorage

In some rooms, message history may be restricted for new users, similar to if you joined an irc channel with a bouncer. Message history will build over time the longer you stay in rooms like this

No. Matrix is not peer-to-peer. Matrix is a federated protocol, meaning a trusted party (a homeserver) is used to grant you access to the wider network.

No*, Matrix is not an encrypted protocol. Matrix does go over HTTPS, and servers do use encryption and signing to ensure data integrity, however your messages in public rooms are, by default, not encrypted. Direct Messages are encrypted by default in some clients, such as Element.

Encryption on matrix is done through m.room.encrypted events. Encryption is implemented on top of matrix, not built into the protocol.

Yes. The message encryption system used by matrix has been independently audited¹⁾. Federation does not make homeservers more or less secure.

This post is either in bad faith, or is by someone who does not have the understanding required to discuss security and privacy. This issue relates to how contact discovery is handled on matrix.

Homeservers can optionally set a default identity server to provide services such as sign-up-via-email, password resetting, and contact discovery. In order for contact discovery to work, an identity server exposes a lookup endpoint where clients can request an MXID from an already known email address. Most homeservers don't set identity servers anyway, and unless you're using matrix.org, you won't have an email attached to your matrix account.

If you're concerned that someone who knows your email can find your matrix account, unlink your email address from your matrix account, and turn off Identity Server integration in your clients settings. If you require something from your identity server, change your privacy settings to not share your email address.

TL;DR: You can't reverse an MXID into an email. This is a non-issue

NO. [matrix] is not a protocol made to protect your identity. Similar to Bitcoin, [matrix] was made to be decentralized, not to hide your identity or history. Also similar to Bitcoin, if you treat [matrix] like a privacy tool, you will end up fucking up hard.

Any homeserver participating in a room retains a full copy of all events (messages) and state updates sent forever. If you are using matrix for sensitive purposes, use your own homeserver and use a whitelist server ACL.

To continue on this, enabling message encryption DOES NOT prevent logging.

A room is the [Matrix] equivalent of a channel. A room has metadata, such as the title, connected communities, a description. As well a timeline of events, which includes messages, reactions, and attachments. One thing to note about rooms is that redacting/deleting a message only hides it from clients and homeservers which respect redactions. If you post something sensitive and quickly redact it, you should probably keep that in mind

Handrub Management (@abuse:glowers.club lol) is an anti-sperg bot originally made to syncronise bans between rooms in the +sneed:glowers.club community. Similar bots are bound to exist across matrix for various other tasks.

A [Matrix] event is a special “packet” that contains JSON data about your message. The JSON data is sent to your homeserver which will then federate it to other homeservers in the room, which is then sent to clients to be rendered

[Matrix] communities are loosely connected collections of rooms, similar to Slack Workplaces or Discord Guilds. Unlike Workplaces or Guilds, users are able to chose which rooms to join instead of being forced to join all of them when they join a Community.

Federation is a tech-nigger term for making one server know about content on another server, Email is an example of a federated protocol.

200acres.org is a [Matrix] homeserver with the intended use being discussion of “homesteading”. The name originates from the sub-reddit r/200acres

ordoevangelistarum.org was a [Matrix] homeserver made to host religious discussion however also hosted the vast majority of -chan rooms such as /tech/ and /a/. OrdoEvangelistarum was the second largest [Matrix] homeserver. Due to hosting issues, OrdoEvangelistarum was shut down on April 20, 2020.

The best homeserver you can use is one you host yourself on your own hardware, however most people generally can't do that. A list of notable homeservers is provided below:

You can make accounts on most matrix homeservers through clients that support sign up. Element is one of them.

First, go to https://app.element.io.

Then, click Create Account.

By default, element.io tries to get you to register to matrix.org. This isn't what we want. Click the green Edit text to change the homeserver we're going to register on.

Now, enter the homeserver you want to register with into the Other homeserver box. For this tutorial, I use matrix.donaldsarmy.us. If you don't know which homeserver you want to use, consider looking at wiki:homeservers

Update: matrix.donaldsarmy.us no longer exists. If you want to follow along, use 200acres.org or another alternative homeserver.

After you've entered in the homeserver you want to join, click Continue.

Now, pick a username you want to use. This username is used to create your Matrix ID. Your Matrix ID is tied to your homeserver, so having the username bob, will make your Matrix ID @bob:example.com

Once you've decided on a username and password, click Register.

Now that you've made an account, you can explore matrix.

Element has a lot of things you can change and that can sometimes overwhelm new users.

Firstly. To open settings, click the chevron at the top right of the room panel.

From this dropdown, you can: Toggle dark mode, Jump to your Notification settings, Jump to Security & Privacy, Jump to General settings, and Sign out. To open the settings dialog, click All settings.

This is the General tab. This contains miscellaneous features and settings such as your Display Name, password, and optional things such as your email address, phone number, and Identity Server.

This is the Appearance tab. This tab allows you to change the overall appearance of Element, as well as change things such as font size. Under advanced, you can also change the font, as well as the layout of messages to a “Modern”, or “IRC” style.

This is the Flair tab. The flair tab is used to toggle which Communities appear next to your name in rooms which enable them. For new users, this will be a blank page.

This is the Notifications tab. This tab allows you to manage when Element should send you a notification.

This is the Preferences tab. This tab has many miscellaneous settings relating to Element it's self.

This is the Voice & Video tab. This tab controls how Element handles Voice and Video chat.

This is the Security & Privacy tab. This tab allows you to manage your sessions, as well as change settings related to encryption.

Firstly. To open settings, click the chevron at the top right of the room panel.

From this dropdown, you can: Toggle dark mode, Jump to your Notification settings, Jump to Security & Privacy, Jump to General settings, and Sign out. To open the settings dialog, click All settings.

From the General tab, you can set a custom avatar by clicking on the circle in the Profile section. Once you upload an image to be your avatar, click Save and wait.

Once you see your new avatar appear at the top left of Element, you're done.

The explore rooms dialog can be opened by clicking the compass icon in the left panel.

By default, Element will open the room directory of the homeserver your account belongs to, to browse the room directories of other homeservers, click the chevron below the search box.

To browse the room directory of a homeserver not on this list, you can add it by clicking Add a new server…

After that, just type in the homeserver you want to browse. In this case, I add 200acres.org. Once you've input the homeserver, click Add. Do note that some homeservers keep their room directories private

The newly added homeserver can now be selected in the dropdown menu. Just click it to browse it's room directory.

The easiest way to join a room is through the Explore rooms dialog.

From here, just search for the room you want to join.

Once you've searched for the room, click Join and wait. Do note that larger rooms can take a while to join

* If you know an alias of a room, i.e: #generals:matrix.donaldsarmy.us, you can search for that alias and press enter to join the room.