2 weeks after the last update at the Website & Content Working Group we have some new updates worth mentioning:
The new ecosystem page listing distributions has landed!
We consider a Matrix distribution a collection of software related to Matrix that is deployed and automatically configured so the different pieces integrate with one another. Click the link to find some examples!
In organisational news, you may have noticed the Working Group is not just called "Website", but "Website & Content". This is because the WG is not only responsible for making sure the website works on a technical level, but also maintaining its content. Of course this also includes making sure that any contributions to the website are as good as they can reasonably be. One of our first big topics behind the scenes was thus the creation of the Review & Publishing Policy to try and set a bar we think we can meet, and as well as expectations that Working Group and contributors may assume of each other. The Governing Board has recommended to the Foundation to approve this policy, and it is now added to our repository's CONTRIBUTING.md alongside the already existing guidelines!
Next step: set up GitHub to support as much of this as possible with automation.
Of course that's only the big news. For the rest, check our commitlog or follow the Hookshot announcements in our public room #matrix.org-website:matrix.org!
This week we're delighted to welcome a new Associate Member to the Foundation: the Moonlight Institute!
Does your community or nonprofit use Matrix, or advocate for free and open source software, interoperability, privacy, or decentralisation? Join us for free as an Associate Member to show your support and participate in the open governance of Matrix.
Here's your weekly spec update! The heart of Matrix is the specification - and this is modified by Matrix Spec Change (MSC) proposals. Learn more about how the process works at https://spec.matrix.org/proposals.
Hi all, we here at Element Towers recently ran a two day hackathon called “How Hard Can It Be?”. The idea being to try out a bunch of ideas that we’ve been noodling on. At the end of the event we ran a demos session and we thought we’d share the video with you.
This is the first time we’ve run an event like this, but it certainly won’t be the last. I’ve also been talking with Yan about the idea of expanding it to be Matrix wide, so anyone can get involved. Watch this space.
Disclaimer: Don't get too excited, it was just a two day hackathon, so everything you see is very much at the poc stage. Though, we may pick a few up in the coming months and ship for real.
Super exciting to see the European Commission soft-launch their first official Matrix Server (https://mathstodon.xyz/@Pol/115173504011566267), powered by Element Server Suite. Watch this space for more info :D
This week I'm excited to share some quick transparency update from the Governing Board. Together with the Website & Content Working Group, we have updated the Governing Board area of the matrix.org homepage, adding more info about the Governing Board's current Committees! We have mentioned the Committees before and named them on the website. The Committee names are mostly speaking for themselves, but one of the goals in open governance is transparency, not guessing. 😉 So we have just added a new subpage at https://matrix.org/foundation/governing-board/committees/ where you can now find each Committee's charter, members, and meeting schedule.
We have also tweaked the main Governing Board page, restructuring the info about the elected representatives and chairs visually to be easier to grasp in the context of Foundation member constituencies and Committees respectively. Give it a whirl, and as always hit us with any questions about the Governing Board over at the #governing-board-office:matrix.org!
Due to things going on which I can't get into, I will not take new applications to Draupnir4All. Additionally, I plan to shut down the system at the end of the year. I suggest looking for alternatives, as I am unlikely to extend this timeframe.
I am at this time not aware of alternatives beyond selfhosting a draupnir. Draupnir4All is selfhostable by anyone via the appservice module of draupnir however.
We (Cat, Sky and I) are setting up a new server to help replace MTRNord's Draupnir4All service. Asgard will offer both Meowlnir and Draupnir instances to room admins who need a moderation bot, but can't host one themselves (or who want a secondary bot as backup). Expect more news in the coming weeks.
Please join me in welcoming the newest members of the Foundation! FlatTurtle has joined as a Silver Member, and c-base has joined as an Associate Member. We're grateful for their support!
Does your community or organisation use Matrix? Do you maintain an open source project that builds on Matrix? Join these organisations in demonstrating their support and apply to become a member today.
Today, Cat and Sky want to formally launch Muninn Hall.
Muninn Hall is a new community for public Matrix homeserver staff, from administrators to custodial and janitorial moderators.
We want to provide a space to pool knowledge, collaborate, and support each other in the efforts of running publix Matrix homeservers. This can range from Trust & Safety, systems administration, or general community management.
Why Muninn Hall?
While there are various Matrix rooms that may look similar to what we aim to do, we couldnt find anything with a comparable concept yet.
The plan is to:
meet in the Matrix space for easy exchange and coordination between each other
have the main Muninn Hall website where we want to pool all kinds of relevant documentation regarding public Matrix homeservers
publish blogs like Introducing Muninn Hall, or maybe a homeserver admin sharing their experiences with $topic
Here's your weekly spec update! The heart of Matrix is the specification - and this is modified by Matrix Spec Change (MSC) proposals. Learn more about how the process works at https://spec.matrix.org/proposals.
This big news this week is the Project Hydra coordinated security release. On August 11th, 2025, updated homeserver implementations were put out to address the vulnerabilities. And the following Thursday, August 14th, the associated spec updates were put out as well (which divulge further details).
The largest part of this is the new Room Version 12, which had a spec PR merged on the same. It explains the changes servers and clients need to make to address the vulnerabilities.
The relevant MSCs and spec PRs were merged and homeserver and client implementations should have already (or should do now if they haven't) updated to support the new changes. However, the changes to the spec won't actually appear in a new spec release until the next release cycle, keeping in line with the usual spec process. The next release is due to go out in the next few weeks as we approach the end of Q3 2025.
A reminder that patches for the coordinated security release of Matrix server implementations will go out this Monday, August 11th 2025 at 17:00 UTC. If you run your own homeserver, please be ready to update around that time to receive security patches!
Last week we were excited to announce two new Working Groups! Huge thanks to Nico who is acting as the Governing Board sponsor for both the Trust & Safety Research & Development Working Group and the Room Directory Working Group. You can learn more about both as well as the existing Events Working Group and Website & Content Working Group on the website at https://matrix.org/foundation/working-groups/!
Feedback form getting these new Working Groups set up helped us at the Governing Board identify some parts in our bylaws and processes documents that were a bit more difficult to grasp. The Governance Committee of the Governing Board is responsible for improving both the Governing Board's own as well as the Foundations processes and has been working in parallel to fill the gaps: You can read the new description about what the tasks of Working Group Chairs are at https://matrix.org/foundation/governing-board/bylaws/02-bylaws/#working-group-chairs-and-vice-chairs-expectations. Tl;dr: if you really care about something getting done, then being the chair is your role for ensuring progress keeps getting made.
By the time you read this, you should be able to find documentation about the Trust and Safety working groups doing Research and Documentation as well as planning to support maintaining the matrix.org room directory on the working groups page.
If those interest you and you want to help out, feel free to join their public offices and introduce yourself! Sorry it took so long to set up and it will take a while longer until you see some output from those groups, but we are slowly organizing ourselves!
Please join us in welcoming < polycule >, a geeky and efficient Matrix client, as the newest Ecosystem Member of the Foundation! ✨
Does your community use Matrix? Or do you maintain a community project that builds on Matrix? Join the Foundation as a member! This helps us demonstrate the breadth of the ecosystem, and all members are entitled to participate in our Governing Board elections.
Category Atom Feed