Matrix is a modern standard for chat.
FSFE offers a Matrix instance for everyone with a FSFE account[1].
Like XMPP, Matrix is federated and offers one-to-one chats and group chatroom, but has a few additional features, like:
Matrix is not perfect, and XMPP has a few advantages over it.
The FSFE does not mandate a specific technology but allows its community to experience both worlds.
Due to federation Matrix handles include both the username and the homeserver, like @user:server.
Our server is named fsfe.org. If your client cannot find it try matrix.fsfe.org.
You can use the Element webapp on chat.fsfe.org or it's Desktop version.
More simplistic alternatives are nheko or SchildiChat Desktop.
On mobile devices, you can also use Element, or SchildiChat with a more conservative design.
Terminal lovers could have a look at gomuks.
There are many more clients but you should check whether they support the features you need. Especially encryption in 1:1 chats and rooms is very important.
If you have a FSFE account, you have a matrix account at our instance.
This means that you should sign in to fsfe.org with your my.fsfe.org credentials.
The key is used not only for anthentication but also for encryption so it is crucial to have it backed up somewhere safe.
If you are using the Element client you can do that using the menu accessed by clicking your profile picture and then going into Encryption tab under the Recovery headline.
Please be aware that if you log out the session gets terminated, and have to re-verify yourself.
The more often this happens, the more likely it is that encrypted messages to you will fail somehow!
A space is a collection of rooms and people that can be logically combined.
The FSFE has it's own space and of course you are invited to join the space and it's rooms.
To do so, you can visit matrix.to/#/#fsfe:fsfe.org or search a new room with the name #fsfe:fsfe.org (perhaps you have to activate the "Spaces" beta first).
After joining, you'll see suggested rooms, e.g. #community:fsfe.org, the public FSFE community chat room.
There is a common error that Elemnt freezes and all you can see is a white screen. If restarting Element, or even the Computer doesn't help there is a few steps to solve this problem:
killall -9 element-desktop