From 5caf9dc1b8d5e98fdc99ab06ab9b9d09d2f546ed Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Eric Eastwood Date: Tue, 30 May 2023 13:57:27 -0500 Subject: [PATCH] Add context and demystify public/world_readable/guest/peeking in the FAQ (#241) Add context and demystify public/world_readable/guest/peeking in the FAQ Spawning from: - https://github.com/matrix-org/matrix-public-archive/issues/47#issuecomment-1568698809 - https://matrix.to/#/!SzoPnANsRYxITaDPaJ:matrix.org/$Zwr_GzklOjhRoAY-D9Ekh0qYhZYUWI_d5HUcJ1180zM?via=matrix.org&via=evulid.cc&via=t2l.io - https://matrix.to/#/!QQpfJfZvqxbCfeDgCj:matrix.org/$ZKgZ6oPhW39gByfORAxp-zfL_g6lISL73Ms_6D16SPQ?via=matrix.org&via=element.io&via=envs.net - https://matrix.to/#/!SzoPnANsRYxITaDPaJ:matrix.org/$eC8O8zFwsvEkoy2kdwrNowKhvCg_kCU7zZhjSlSEGto?via=matrix.org&via=evulid.cc&via=t2l.io --- docs/faq.md | 23 +++++++++++++++++++++-- 1 file changed, 21 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-) diff --git a/docs/faq.md b/docs/faq.md index be1b4f0..fb5a827 100644 --- a/docs/faq.md +++ b/docs/faq.md @@ -20,9 +20,28 @@ messages from any given date and day-by-day navigation. ## How do I opt out and keep my room from being indexed by search engines? All public Matrix rooms are accessible to view in the Matrix Public Archive. But only -rooms with history visibility set to `world_readable` will be indexed by search engines. +rooms with history visibility set to `world_readable` are indexable by search engines. -Also see https://github.com/matrix-org/matrix-public-archive/issues/47 +Also see https://github.com/matrix-org/matrix-public-archive/issues/47 to track better +opt out controls. + +For [archive.matrix.org](https://archive.matrix.org/), you can ban the +`@archive:matrix.org` user if you don't want your room content to be shown in the +archive at all. + +## Why does the archive user join rooms instead of browsing them as a guest? + +Guests require `m.room.guest_access` to access a room. Most public rooms do not allow +guests because even the `public_chat` preset when creating a room does not allow guest +access. Not being able to view most public rooms is the major blocker on being able to +use guest access. The idea is if I can view the messages from a Matrix client as a +random user, I should also be able to see the messages in the archive. + +Keep in mind that only rooms with history visibility set to `world_readable` are +indexable by search engines. The Matrix Public Archive doesn't hold onto any data (it's +stateless) and requests the messages from the homeserver every time. The +[archive.matrix.org](https://archive.matrix.org/) instance has some caching in place, 5 +minutes for the current day, and 2 days for past content. ## Technical details