Joining the Matrix - What? How? (Pixiv Fanbox)

This time something different. We were looking for a good way to have a community, share works, give updates for some time. Discord didn't pan out – it's against their TOS, and recently they started to appease investors more and more, so they became proactive in search for communities which were hiding amongst so many others. I hear Guilded.gg also didn't was a good alternative – heard about bans already. And it's gaming-centric, so nothing there is really exciting for shota/loli communities.

Matrix was an option I was thinking about ever since the first FANbox server ban. But I didn't want to go on any public server to create my space there. Thankfully we have other alternatives now, that ShotaWorld forum is hosting their own homeserver. And we are welcome there. There are also self-hosted homeservers that we can register to and be okay with any shota/loli activity (ofc. nothing illegal on any!). That's why I decided to make a little explanation post about what matrix is and how to register there.

What it even is? Matrix? Like movie?

References aside, Matrix is a federated net of homeservers sharing the same infrastructure. Think of it like Mastodon is for Pawoo and Baraag - both can be accessed by one account, interact with each other etc. What that means is you are joining one place, make an account and can use it to join other spaces in Matrix network.

Matrix is designed with security and privacy in mind. All your private messages are encrypted and a lot of rooms in spaces are also. The only problem I can imagine with that is proving you are innocent when accusations start to be thrown around, it's hard to defend oneself. But the opposite is also true, accusations are only that when you cannot prove anything.

"Space" is a name for a server with rooms inside. It's actually a newer addition to the Matrix, so it has some quirks. Homeserver is a domain your account and spaces are on. For example, your account might look like @boyboy:shotaserver.com - so boyboy being your name and shotaserver.com will be your homeserver.

Okay, where to join?

There are few servers that are dedicated to keep their users safe and do not object to shota/loli content (yet all of them object real sexualization, do not do anything illegal!):

• shotaworld.com - recently after all the fiasco with Discord they started their own self-hosted Matrix homeserver. To keep it running and keep it faster than usual homeservers, creating your own spaces is restricted only to people who subscribe or donate towards the server. An uncommon restriction is to not use real children as your avatar. [Registration link] [Forum post explaining server]

• lolisho.chat - pomf.tv (they are shota/loli friendly streaming service) hosted homeserver.

• nltrix.net - not really shota/loli one but a Netherlands homeserver focusing on privacy. (10MB file size restriction)

Those are only few I had tested, and they work. I personally recommend shotaworld one – I donate there to keep my FANbox space in it. Not only because of that. It's a very fast one, and file restriction for now is actually big (50MB). After it clutters they might change it to 20MB but I was promised to not go below that.

What client to use?

Matrix is known for many clients you can use to join in. (not)Complete list you can find [HERE]. The most up-to-date and used client is Element - can be used on web browser, as a standalone and on phones. I recommend when registering a new account to do so on Element Web, then download and verify any other you want to. They all have their pros and cons, but usually comes to how they look like. Myself, I use both Element and Nheko.

Verification is an important part of Matrix network, you need to be logged in 2 spaces at the same time and then accept stuff on both at the same time (you have like 2-3 minute timer so no worry). You can also generate a security key - a string of letters and numbers that will allow you to verify other devices or when you clean your browser to re-login there. I recommend storing it in nice, convenient, but private place.

Can I use it with VPN? Tor?

Of course, to be even more secure and raise your privacy - using an VPN or Tor would be recommended. VPN is non-issue. With Tor... well, if it's requested enough, I can ask people who are more intelligent with it to write a little tutorial. But also I believe there are tutorials about it on the web already :3.

How to find places to join?

It's actually easy and cool how it works. When you join a homeserver, you can access any public space in its catalog. Just click to explore any public rooms (in Element, it's an icon beside your Search box). Spaces and rooms can be invite-only and public. If you go around, you can easily find enough nice places to be in and have a good talk or share art.

End note

I am glad we found better places to be okay with us liking shota and loli and not be hiding on like Discord and likes, worry every day that someone reports or we will be found by moderators. It's a different place, a quirky place which is not as easy to join and understand, hence I wanted to write a little thing how to be part of it and not be as confused as I was when I first tried it out. If you have any more questions, I will try to answer them in the comments.

Oh, and a full pic!