Matrix is a chat platform similar to our old platform, Slack.
Compared to Slack it has a few key advantages:
- Open source & modifiable
- Self hosted, so we're not at the mercy of an external platform
- No limits to message history etc
- Announcements Channel -follow this for updates on the space without the noise of chats going on.
- Supports federation, so we can talk to people on other Matrix servers (e.g. other hackspaces)
- Supports single-sign-on, so you can log in with your Teesside Hackspace account
- Matrix is bridged to Slack, so we can still exchange messages with legacy Slack users
There are many open source apps you can use to connect to Matrix, but we recommend using Element
To access Element through the web, you can go to https://chat.teessidehackspace.org.uk/ and log in with your Teesside Hackspace account (paid membership not required to use our Matrix).
If you want to use a mobile app, you can download the Element app for iOS or Android. You can then click the following link to point your app to our server: https://mobile.element.io/?hs_url=https%3A%2F%2Fmatrix.teessidehackspace.org.uk%2F&is_url=https%3A%2F%2Fvector.im%2F
If the link above doesn't work, or you're trying to log in with Element desktop, or another client, you might need to manually edit your homeserver address to change it to `matrix.teessidehackspace.org.uk`, as shown in the screenshot below.
As with Slack, all "Rooms" (channels in Slack) are not added by default, be sure to explore the extra rooms and add the ones to suit your interests, e.g. 3D Printing.
As with Slack you can cusomise notifications, so you can follow a channel but not have it notifying away. Additionally, we have set up the #Announcements channel in Matrix to post key things without the noise of chit chat.