|
|
|
@ -92,24 +92,40 @@ number to discover people to talk to.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
##### What kind of company is Matrix.org?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Matrix is an open initiative which acts as a neutral custodian of the
|
|
|
|
|
Matrix standard. It's not actually incorporated anywhere at the moment
|
|
|
|
|
but we are looking at the best legal structure for the future (and as
|
|
|
|
|
of October 2015 we have hopefully found one). Whatever the legal
|
|
|
|
|
structure, we are committed to keeping the Matrix project open.
|
|
|
|
|
Matrix.org is an open initiative which acts as a neutral and independent custodian
|
|
|
|
|
of the Matrix standard. As of Sept 2017 we are finally in the process of incorporating
|
|
|
|
|
it as a dedicated non-profit entity (most likely a limited by guarantee UK private company
|
|
|
|
|
called the Matrix.org Foundation).
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
##### Who is funding Matrix.org?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Most of the current core contributors to Matrix work at
|
|
|
|
|
[Amdocs](http://amdocs.com), who have kindly given us permission to work
|
|
|
|
|
on Matrix as an independent non-profit initiative. Other contributors
|
|
|
|
|
Matrix.org is currently (Sept 2017) funded by the community, through a
|
|
|
|
|
combination of community support (via
|
|
|
|
|
[Patreon](https://patreon.com/matrixdotorg),
|
|
|
|
|
[Liberapay](https://liberapay.org/matrixdotorg), Bitcoin and Ethereum),
|
|
|
|
|
corporate sponsorship, and grant funding. Current Elliptic-level supporters on
|
|
|
|
|
Patreon and corporate sponsors can be found on our [supporters
|
|
|
|
|
page](https://matrix.org/blog/supporters). If you would like to support the core
|
|
|
|
|
Matrix team as a member of the community, please visit our
|
|
|
|
|
[Patreon](https://patreon.com/matrixdotorg) or
|
|
|
|
|
[Liberapay](https://liberapay.org/matrixdotorg) pages, or you can send us
|
|
|
|
|
Bitcoin at 1LxowEgsquZ3UPZ68wHf8v2MDZw82dVmAE or Ethereum at ETH
|
|
|
|
|
0xA5f9a4f9E024F6D727f7afdA9257e22329A97485. If you would like to sponsor the
|
|
|
|
|
team as a corporation, or are interested in paying for prioritised or custom
|
|
|
|
|
development, please [get in touch](mailto:matthew@matrix.org).
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
For the first three years of Matrix's development (2014-2017), most of the core
|
|
|
|
|
contributors worked for [Amdocs](https://www.amdocs.com), who paid for them to
|
|
|
|
|
work fulltime on Matrix. In July 2017, Amdocs considered the project to be
|
|
|
|
|
sufficiently successful that it could now self-support and so stopped funding.
|
|
|
|
|
The majority of the core team is now employed by New Vector, an independent company
|
|
|
|
|
set up to hire the team and support Matrix's development. Other contributors
|
|
|
|
|
are funded by their own employers or donate their own time to the project.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
##### Who is building Matrix?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The core team is ~10 people with extensive experience in building custom
|
|
|
|
|
VoIP and Messaging apps for mobile network operators. Most of us have
|
|
|
|
|
day jobs at [Amdocs](http://amdocs.com) or [OpenMarket](http://openmarket.com),
|
|
|
|
|
The core team is ~12 people with extensive experience in building custom
|
|
|
|
|
VoIP and Messaging apps for mobile network operators. Most of us work for New Vector,
|
|
|
|
|
but there are an increasing number of contributors from other companies and
|
|
|
|
|
folks all over the internet.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
@ -217,24 +233,24 @@ bridges as the project progresses.
|
|
|
|
|
The Matrix team used XMPP (Openfire, ejabberd, spectrum, asmack,
|
|
|
|
|
XMPPFramework) for IM before starting to experiment with open HTTP APIs
|
|
|
|
|
as an alternative in around 2012. The main issues with XMPP that
|
|
|
|
|
drove us in this direction were:
|
|
|
|
|
drove us in this direction **as of 2012** were:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
- Not particularly web-friendly - you can't easily speak XMPP from a
|
|
|
|
|
web browser. (N.B. Nowadays you have options like XMPP-FTW and
|
|
|
|
|
Stanza.io that help loads with letting browsers talk XMPP).
|
|
|
|
|
web browser. *N.B. Nowadays you have options like XMPP-FTW and
|
|
|
|
|
Stanza.io that help loads with letting browsers talk XMPP*
|
|
|
|
|
- Single logical server per MUC is a single point of control and
|
|
|
|
|
availability. (MUCs can be distributed over multiple physical
|
|
|
|
|
availability. *MUCs can be distributed over multiple physical
|
|
|
|
|
servers, but they still sit behind a single logical JID and domain.
|
|
|
|
|
FMUC improves this with a similar approach to Matrix, but as of Oct
|
|
|
|
|
2015 there are no open source implementations.)
|
|
|
|
|
2015 there are no open source implementations. The MIX XMPP extension
|
|
|
|
|
also aims to address this limitation*.
|
|
|
|
|
- History synchronisation is very much a second class citizen feature
|
|
|
|
|
- Bridging to other protocols and defragmenting existing communication
|
|
|
|
|
apps and networks is very much a second class citizen feature
|
|
|
|
|
- Stanzas aren't framed or reliably delivered without extensions. (See
|
|
|
|
|
- Stanzas aren't framed or reliably delivered without extensions. *See
|
|
|
|
|
[wiki.xmpp.org](http://wiki.xmpp.org/web/Myths#Myth_Four:_XMPP_is_unreliable_without_a_bunch_of_extensions.)
|
|
|
|
|
for an XMPP take on this)
|
|
|
|
|
- Multiple device support is limited. (Apparently Carbons and MAM help
|
|
|
|
|
with this)
|
|
|
|
|
for an XMPP take on this*
|
|
|
|
|
- Multiple device support is limited. *Carbons and MAM aim to resolve this*
|
|
|
|
|
- Baseline feature set is so minimal that fragmentation of features
|
|
|
|
|
between clients and servers is common, especially as interoperability
|
|
|
|
|
profiles for features have fallen behind (as of July 2015)
|
|
|
|
@ -242,13 +258,13 @@ drove us in this direction were:
|
|
|
|
|
count X.509 certs, which [are
|
|
|
|
|
questionable](http://www.thoughtcrime.org/blog/ssl-and-the-future-of-authenticity/))
|
|
|
|
|
- Not particularly well designed for mobile use cases: push;
|
|
|
|
|
bandwidth-efficient transports. (Since the time of writing a [Push
|
|
|
|
|
bandwidth-efficient transports. *Since the time of writing a [Push
|
|
|
|
|
XEP has appeared](http://xmpp.org/extensions/xep-0357.html), and
|
|
|
|
|
[wiki.xmpp.org](http://wiki.xmpp.org/web/Myths#Myth_Three:_It.27s_too_bandwidth-inefficient_for_mobile.)
|
|
|
|
|
claims that XMPP runs "fine" over a 9600bps + 30s latency link.)
|
|
|
|
|
states that XMPP is usable over a 9600bps + 30s latency link.*
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The whole subject of XMPP vs Matrix seems to bring out the worst in
|
|
|
|
|
people. Rather than fighting over which open interoperable communication
|
|
|
|
|
This said, the whole area of XMPP vs Matrix is quite subjective.
|
|
|
|
|
Rather than fighting over which open interoperable communication
|
|
|
|
|
standard works the best, we should just collaborate and bridge everything
|
|
|
|
|
together. The more federation and interoperability the better.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|