I've decided to change the communication protocol used by the mikedamage.info chat server from XMPP to Matrix.org. I just finished setting up a Matrix instance on the chat server, and it's ready for some intrepid guinea pigs to kick the tires! There's a long winded explanation of why I'm switching us over to Matrix, but I put it below the instructions in case you don't really care.
TL;DR Matrix is easier for me to manage, more secure for you, and everybody can access the server using same app, with the same awesome features, on pretty much any device or operating system in existence.
Coming Soon: Once I set the Matrix server up properly, we'll be able to do real-time, person to person voice and video calls in addition to text chat!
Riot is a Matrix.org chat client that works on iOS, Android, MacOS, Windows, Linux, and if all else fails, in your web browser. Head over to the Riot Downloads Page and grab the version for your device. You can also connect to mikedamage.info via the Riot web app at https://riot.im/app.
The first time you connect to the Matrix server, you'll need to register yourself. When you open up Riot for the first time, you'll see a Login / Register interface:
- At the bottom of the form, click or tap the Register button to switch from login to the signup form.
- In the Username field, just enter your first name in all lowercase (ex:
mike). - Enter your desired password in the Password field. Do the same in the Repeat Password field.
- Check the Use custom server options box. Two additional input fields will appear.
- In the Home Server field, enter the following:
https://mikedamage.info:8448. - You have two options for the final field (Identity Server):
- If you want to link your phone number and/or email address to a public identity that allows Matrix users on other servers to find and contact you, enter
https://vector.im. - If you only want to be visible to mikedamage.info users, enter
https://mikedamage.info:8448.
- If you want to link your phone number and/or email address to a public identity that allows Matrix users on other servers to find and contact you, enter
- Click or tap the Register button.
You only have to register once. If you're setting up Riot on multiple devices, you can use the Log In form once you've registered, filling in the username and password you signed up with earlier. Remember to check the Custom Server checkbox and enter https://mikedamage.info:8448 as your Home Server when signing in on a new device. Keep the value of Identity Server the same as the one you entered during registration.
XMPP is a highly fragmented protocol that's showing its age. It has a lot of issues that I've had to compromise overall security in order to work around (i.e. images posted to group chats are unencrypted and visible to anyone who's able to guess their public URLs). The XMPP spec is pretty scant on functionality, relying on add-on specifications for most of the stuff that make it actually usable for chat. This means that you can't always find a chat app that actually supports the features you want, built for the platform you're using. For example, XMPP has a spec that supposedly allows 1-to-1, real-time voice and video calls, but not a single mobile chat app supports it or even plans to.
Matrix, on the other hand, is a fully spec'd platform for decentralized communication with an active development and user community. It's designed to be more decentralized, more secure, and easier to figure out for both admins and users.