Hello Matrix
This blog post was released on the seventeenth of February 2026.
Delay as usual
There were a few times when I was close to writing this post. I was postponing because I decided that starting my matrix server would be a good occasion. Well, here it is.
The start was good
As a matter of fact, I started my homeserver for Matrix around a month ago. I understood that running a TURN server for VoIP from my Raspberry Pi would be unreasonable, so I started looking for a VPS (Virtual Private Server).
VPS journey
I ordered a VPS, as the price and hardware were good. After that, I found out that you are supposed to have something like a business registration, which is not my case at the moment. At least they refunded me without any issues.
I started feeling concerned because it was difficult to find something in Calgary or at least Canada from some reliable non-American company. One option was really good, but they didn't have any VPSs left in Canada. Fortunately, next day there was one for me.
So what I have?
12 GBs of RAM, 6 virtual cores for 11 CAD. Now I use it as a proxy for my website, as well as it serves my TURN server for Matrix. My Matrix homeserver is hosted from my Raspberry Pi, connected via Wireguard to my VPS.
Something is also new
I also acquired a Gl.inet Flint 3e router. My ISP (Internet Service Provider) has absolutely atrocious limitations on THEIR router for managing MY network. I got extremely angry and just bought this thing the same day the frustration became intolerable.
This router runs OpenWRT (Linux for routers basically), so I can even SSH to it if I need to. It has some conveniently pre-installed apps. Out of all of them, I use AdGuard (it replaced Pi-hole for me) and a Wireguard client on my router itself. In the web UI, I can tunnel, manage, fix, break, debug, and do whatever I want. That's absolutely brilliant.
Where are you?
I also had some time for my game. I tried Rust for Godot in a test project, I set it up and worked.
I was considering ditching GDScript parts for C++, because the quality of that code is absolutely disgusting. One of the reasons is that you cannot have nested containers in GDScript. It's a great scripting language; it's just me with some special needs for performance experiments.
Now it became obvious, that I will do that in Rust. I am few steps away from getting back to work on this project. I am even more excited because I will be trying to implement my ECS-friendly Rust approach for Godot. Nothing big, just pure interest, as well as a good opportunity to use this language more and figure out whether it is a good choice for games.
Matrix
What is it? It is a protocol. Open-source, federated, and with a lot of different implementations. I use Tuwunel (a Rust implementation for the server) and Element for clients. Element is made by Matrix creators; it's probably the most feature-rich. I think it's a good starting point.
Why? Well, people in Canada use SMS/iMessage, people in Western Europe use WhatsApp, Telegram in Eastern Europe. I also have Signal, but there is a typical problem of not having people to text there.
The irony is, I was the first person in my friend groups to start converting people to Telegram. Now, it seems I will start doing the opposite.
Maybe Matrix is absolutely unusable. Who knows? Despite it can end up a horrible experience, I hope it will be my replacement for all messaging, as well as maybe even authorization for other services.
It also has bridges, so I will be able to bridge some stuff from Telegram, iMessage, and... Discord?
Discord
It was year 2016, me and boyz created our channel on Discord. This channel was named "Black Dolphin" (you can google what is that place), so it had particular theme. We had fun role names, text and voice chats. At some point I lost access to my 2FA and had to abandon that account, starting a new one.
As everyone chronically online probably knows, Discord wants to introduce verification through processing your ID. Such a funny idea, especially nowadays.
With all those ID-leaks, people getting frustrated with Big Tech, Discord makes the move that I absolutely adore... Because now you can join my Matrix space: https://matrix.to/#/#community:ayeque.art.
P.S.
You can also request an account on my homeserver through the Matrix page in the top bar. It helps with decentralization, which is the key principle of Matrix protocol. Requests are reviewed manually for now.