Matrix

• a [[tool]].
  • [[federated]] [[chat]] [[network]].
    • successor to [[xmpp]] — or that is the pitch.
      • reasonable web and android versions; supports voice messages well, video calls in the works.
  • [[element]] is my default client.
    • #go https://app.element.io
    • I’m on [[matrix]]: @flancian@matrix.org
      • (see [[flancian]] for my identities in other platforms)
      • there are [[agora]] [[rooms]] in matrix, each room implicitly a space for collaboration and cooperation — or a [[stoa]]:
        • [[flancia collective]]
      • [[agora discuss]]
      • [[agora development]]
      • [[fedstoa]]
      • [[wikilinks everywhere]]
      • [[promnesia]]
    • [[list of matrix servers]]

(Unsupported content elided by the Agora.)

Matrix is a federating database, kind of? It’s generally less useful to define it by its actual technical spec than by saying it’s the underpinning for "matrix chat", i.e. this thing which is now being officially called "Element". If you think of it like "Discord but open source, end-to-end encrypted by default, and self-hostable" you’re not far off.

If you’re curious and want to pay someone instead of spending your own time to admin it, check out Beeper which handles not only running the underlying Matrix instance, but also a bunch of bridges that let you talk to closed-source corporate messengers, e.g. WhatsApp, iMessage, etc. etc.

The Matrix protocol powers an open network for secure, decentralized communication.

From the Matrix.org home page:

Matrix is an open source project that publishes the Matrix open standard for secure, decentralised, real-time communication, and its Apache licensed reference implementations.

Maintained by the non-profit Matrix.org Foundation, we aim to create an open platform which is as independent, vibrant and evolving as the Web itself… but for communication.

As of June 2019, Matrix is out of beta, and the protocol is fully suitable for production usage.

Matrix is great for real-time communications, including voice and video. It features end-to-end encryption (based on the algorithm popularized by Signal), and does a lot of bridging.

The bridging aspect might be something to look at for Moa, including using Matrix as the bridge into specific systems.

Matrix