User guide
v0.3 (Nov 19, 2018)
Introduction
Matrix is now used for Virtual Assembly discussions, replacing Slack. A Matrix server is self-hosted on the association server, and responds to the domain name matrix.virtual-assembly.org.
The principle of Matrix is a juxtaposition of "rooms", spread over a federation of servers, which are all independent of each other (and not hierarchical). These rooms can be grouped into communities[^1] (groups) which are divided into filters across all Matrix federation. A room can belong to several communities. Each community has at least one room. Our convention is to give the community's name to this default room.
For example, there is a General community, which currently includes two rooms: General and Reception.
Accessing rooms — Tools
To access the conversations of the Matrix federation (and especially in our case Virtual Assembly) you have to choose a client software, of which there is a list accessible on this page: Matrix clients. For our part, we recommend Riot which is available as both desktop application, web application and mobile app. It is currently the most mature application to access Matrix.
In the continuation of the document, we will speak only of Riot. Other clients are not documented here yet.
- If you use the Riot web interface, go to the following address:
Virtual Assembly Community. You will then arrive on a page presenting the salons of the ** General ** community.
- To download the desktop application, it's here: Download Riot
- If you prefer the mobile app, go to the iOS or Android store
In order to access community discussions, you need to have a Matrix account, no matter which server you are registered for. Be careful, however, your user experience may be different depending on your account (see Configuration)
Creating an account
The following section is only about Riot. Other clients are not documented here yet.
When you open your client and want to join a community or access a trade show, you are asked to create an account unless you are already registered somewhere on the Matrix network.
However, having an account on the ** matrix.virtual-assembmly.org ** server will give you more comfort in the use of the lounges, and in the first place will improve the functions of navigation, search and discovery.
The first point to check, if you want to create an account on our server, is that the sysadmin team knows you. If you were on Slack, or have been in contact with the Assembly for a long time, it is likely that this is the case. Otherwise, contact someone you know in the Assembly, so that this person alerts the sysadmin team to allow access to the Virtual Assembly rooms[^3]. You will soon be notified to create an account.
Depending on which page you are on, you can see two different messages. The difference between "Join the community" and "Join the room" is that, in the first case, you will see the community icon in the far left sidebar of the window. You can be part of as many communities as you want and these ones will visually separate the rooms following different domains of interest.
For the rest, the registration process is the same in both cases.
Beware: on the web interface, you will see a pop-up window; then click on "select another server"
To create an account, fill out the form as follows:
- Enter your e-mail address [^2], but ...
- ... do not fill in the Phone field (this would cause your account not work properly).
- Choose a username and a password
- Before clicking on Register:
- You must choose the server that will host your account ->
* the Default Server is on the domain https://matrix.org
* the Custom Server is the one of the Virtual Assembly (we strongly advise you to choose this option).
- For the home service URL, enter: https://matrix.virtual-assembly.org
- For the identity server URL, leave the default value: https://vector.im
- Choose the language for the interface
- You can now click on Register
Fill out the form giving your email address indicates your membership (or not) in the Virtual Assembly (the addresses were taken from Slack).
Once connected, you can join the different rooms, whose icons will be added in the second left sidebar; you can then sort them by priority.
Communities and rooms IDs are standardized as follows:
|-------------|--------------------------------------|
| room | # {salon name}: {chat server} |
| ------------|--------------------------------------|
| community | + {community name}: {chat server} |
|-------------|--------------------------------------|
Thus, the Ontologies room has for identifier:
#ontologies:matrix.virtual-assembly.org
To access it from the web, we must add the radical
** https: //riot.im/app/#** followed by ** / group ** or ** / room ** as appropriate.
e.g. : https://riot.im/app/#/room/#ontologies:matrix.virtual-assembly.org
User interface
Toolbar
At the bottom left of the window, you will see a toolbar with the following features :
- Add a community (to existing list)
- Riot Home page
- Start a discussion with someone[^4]
- Display the catalog of rooms (list depending of your home server)
- Create a new room
- Parameters of your personal profile
Attention : Le répertoire des salons que vous voyez dépend du serveur Matrix sur lequel vous avez votre compte. Si c'est sur l'instance de l'Assemblée Virtuelle, tout ira bien, sinon vous verrez la liste des salons de matrix.org, ce qui ne vous sera pas d'une grande utilité, d'autant que vous ne pourrez pas faire de recherche.
Usage
Mentions
- To mention a person in a conversation, insert the annotation "@pseudo_of_the_person" (as in Slack)
- You can mention at once all the subscribers of a room with the annotation "@room".
- You can mention another room in a discussion by prefixing its name with a hash "#".
- For doing the same with a community, prefix its name with the symbol “+”.
Best practices
- Ne laissez pas votre avatar vide, et mettez une image facilement discernable.
Notes
- “commmunity” is the term used by Riot, as an equivalent for Matrix “group”
- The workflow is no yet formally approved
- If you already joined chats on Slack, be careful to keep the same e-mail address you uded there.
- ”Direct messages” on Slack.
