[nmglug] Matrix Server - Production Ready

[Jonathan Haack]

NM GLUG,

The matrix server (floss alternative to Discord) is now out of beta and
fully functional. The last remaining piece, setting up email recovery for
user, is now completed so this will be my last email on the this topic! 😉

https://element.gnulinux.club

I've created a #nmglug room in a gnulinuxclub space that's publicly
accessible, with integrated native jitsi capabilities within the server as
well, and I have also created a #pubglug channel in case anyone in the
fediverse wants to partner/chat with any of us.

Lastly, as we all know, Matrix is wonky with E2EE, so here's what I
recommend if you do decide to join:

1) Register account using link above (check spam, domain is new so it will
go there despite having spf/PTR)
2) Once logged in, immediately log back out, and then back in - upon
logging back in, choose to "Proceed with reset" / "Enter a Security Phrase"
/ download your "Security Key" / enter *password* again to confirm
3) Store these credentials securely and then log back in - moving forward,
"verifying" will now be a breeze, just log in w/username  and password,
then enter your Security Phrase and done.

It's still wonky and don't blame the messenger lol 😁. Of course, if you
know Matrix well, you can do all of the steps above from within the user
settings but it takes longer imho and is hard to locate for user. Note:
when using the iOS / Playstore apps, make sure to edit your homeserver and
enter "matrix.gnulinux.club" before logging in with user / password and
Security Phrase.

Lastly, thanks to GLUG member "treichelt" for helping me problem-solve a
few things and to Jason Schaefer as well. Also, remember that you can join
here and always migrate to a different home server later if you don't like
it. Also, as I mentioned earlier, I have experience in being a community
moderator for communities with over 1500+ users and I take privacy and your
content very seriously. The server is co-located at Brown Rice Internet on
zfs encrypted drives that can only open from a LUKS encrypted keystore,
with keys generated with dd. The backups are held locally and pulled to an
offsite backup server (also zfs encrypted) using rsync over ssh with only
key authentication utilized. There is plenty of space on the server array
for content growth (48TB RAID1, with 24TB actual). I also have an entire
hot-spare ready to bring up in case of sudden hardware failure. Lastly,
I've ordered an even more powerful server for upgrades within a year or
two; it arrives this Friday.

I hope everyone is well. As some of you know, I literally *hated Matrix*
for a good long time. But/and, I don't like Discord either as it is not
#floss, so I gave it another look. Although it's still wonky in places
(notably on E2EE), it's now very stable and snappy and I must say I am
enjoying it a ton. The integrated self-hosted jitsi is also killer. I also
promise to be committed to running this long term and problem solving
community issues if they emerge. Please never hesitate to reach me here
and/or at jonathan at haacksnetworking.org if you need a quicker response.
Here to help!

Best to everyone, sorry for the long length, but I just want people to know
what we have here and how it's run / how your privacy or data (should you
choose to join) is respected and managed! 😊

Thanks,
Jonathan Haack
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