72 lines
3.1 KiB
Markdown
72 lines
3.1 KiB
Markdown
# MSC1929 Homeserver Admin Contact and Support page
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Currently, contacting a homeserver admin is difficult because you need to have insider knowledge
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of who the admin actually is. This proposal aims to fix that by specifying a way to add contact details
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of admins, as well as a link to a support page for users who are having issues with the service.
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This proposal aims to fix https://github.com/matrix-org/matrix-doc/issues/484
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## Proposal
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The proposal suggests adding a new endpoint: `https://{hostname}/.well-known/matrix/support`,
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where `hostname` is the server name, without the port number. This is the same as what is used
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when performing server discovery.
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The response format should be:
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```json5
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{
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"contacts": [
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{
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"matrix_id": "@admin:domain.tld",
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"email_address": "admin@domain.tld",
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"role": "m.role.admin"
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},
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{
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"email_address": "security@domain.tld",
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"role": "m.role.security"
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}
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],
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"support_page": "https://domain.tld/support.html"
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}
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```
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The `contacts` array is optional, but recommended.
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The `matrix_id` and `email_address` do NOT need to have the same domain as the homeserver. It is expected that
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an admin will have a "backup" contact address if the server is down, like an email or alternative mxid on a different homeserver.
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Entries may have a `matrix_id` OR an `email_address`, but at least one MUST be specified.
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`role` is an informal description of what the address(es) are used for. The only two specified in this
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proposal are `m.role.admin` and `m.role.security`.
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- `m.role.admin` is a catch-all user for any queries.
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- `m.role.security` is intended for sensitive requests
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A value for `role` MUST be specified. Custom values are permitted using the
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[common namespaced identifier format](https://spec.matrix.org/v1.8/appendices/#common-namespaced-identifier-grammar).
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`support_page` is an optional property to specify an affiliated page of the homeserver to give users help
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specific to the homeserver, like extra login/registration steps.
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At least one valid key should be provided. This means `contacts` should have at least one entry, or the `support_page` should be defined. An empty object is not considered valid, however both `contacts `and `support_page` may be specified together.
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## Alternative solutions
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Hardcode a given user localpart that should be used as an admin address.
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- The account would need to either internally redirect messages intended for @admin:domain.tld to another account(s)
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- OR require an admin to regularly sign into this special account to check for messages. Neither of which is useful.
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Specify the same content inside a homeserver endpoint, rather than use `.well-known`.
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- This requires the homeserver to be up or responsive, which might be not very useful if trying to report issues with
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connectivity.
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Use vCards.
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- vCards would add bloat, as the vast majority of a vcards contents is not useful for contacting an admin.
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## Security considerations
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If the host is compromised, any information could be specified in the well known file which may direct users to send
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sensitive information to a malicious user.
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