Matrix Chat Server Reopening
Come live in the Matrix with us!
The Matrix chat server is back up and running! For those who don't know what Matrix is, there's an explanation below.
Join the remake's Matrix space on #nucleartech-space:ntmr.dev, the remake main chat on #nucleartech:ntmr.dev, or contact me directly at @martinthedragon:ntmr.dev!
If you don't have a Matrix account, are a relatively familiar person in the NTM community and would like to have a Matrix account on the ntmr.dev domain, then send an email at matrix@ntmr.dev or message me by some other means to apply for one! Make sure you are aware of the privacy information and service terms lined out on the site's matrix page beforehand.
What is Matrix?
Matrix could be described as what happens when email, instant messaging and encryption meet.
Matrix is an open protocol designed to be secure and decentralized. It allows for any sort of decentralized communication, technically even between autonomous machines. In most cases though, you'll see it used for instant messaging, i.e. chatting. How to participate in the world of Matrix is already well-documented on the matrix.org website.
No big corporate data controllers!
Unlike your usual chat though, Matrix doesn't rely on a single platform or service provider controlling and distributing all the messages - the protocol is fully decentralized and there is no one who actually owns or controls any messages. You could really describe it as email, just a lot less clunky and (optionally) fully encrypted so that not even the servers distributing your messages know anything about the message contents at all.
Matrix itself is purely a protocol specification. It can be implemented by anyone and different client and server software exists. Clients talk to a specific server they're logged in to (also called "homeserver"), the server provides the client with information (for example about messages in a Matrix "room"), and the client can send information out to the server (like messages meant to be sent to someone). Servers also talk to each other in a process called "federation", which is one of the key design points of Matrix. To get a message from a sender logged in to homeserver A to a recipient on homeserver B, the servers A and B have to communicate with each other. The protocol works for any amount of users and servers connected to a room.
Rooms also aren't actually owned by anyone, not even the server they were created on. Even though the domain at the end of a room id may have you believe so, every server that takes part in a federated room has its own local copy of the entire room's event graph and gets an equal say in it. This way, a room can live on even if the original server it was created on no longer exists.
For more details of how and why this protocol works great (and without being insecure and prone to attacks), you can look at the well-illustrated explanations on the matrix.org website!