matrix-org / matrix-org/matrix-spec

Improve error codes for room directory

Open
#621 0 comments 1 reaction 0 assignees View on GitHub
A-Client-Server enhancement
Dominant language
HTML
Stars
330
Forks
150
Avg merge
2h 21m
Merged PRs (30d)
3

Description

From discussions I had in https://github.com/vector-im/riot-web/issues/13661 when user add a Matrix instance to look for chans/rooms in there through the "Explore rooms feature", like in Riot, it seems the response the client get isn't really detailed, and basically is just a "I couldn't contact the server".

I don't know very well Matrix servers and mechanics, but from this discussion, I distinguish at least two different cases that would deserve a different response from server, allowing for clients to give their users a more accurate information:
- If the server was indeed unreachable (offline, bad name so no existing server. Those two might even be separated if we consider if the DNS record exist or not)
- If the server was reached, but the directory listing isn't public. This way, the user wouldn't be confused whether their input is correct or not.

I might have not considered other cases due to my lack of knowledge on possible situations.

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

Research direction

Start by reading the linked Riot issue, matrix-org/riot-web#13661, and compare its discussion with the Matrix room-directory behavior described here. Identify where the specification defines responses for unreachable servers and non-public directories. Done means the specification clearly distinguishes these cases or documents the agreed error-code design.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Domain
api, backend-api-design
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
30/100

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