+ +

Server Notices

'Server Notices' are a new feature introduced in Synapse 0.30. They provide a +channel whereby server administrators can send messages to users on the server.

They are used as part of communication of the server polices (see +Consent Tracking), however the intention is that +they may also find a use for features such as "Message of the day".

This is a feature specific to Synapse, but it uses standard Matrix +communication mechanisms, so should work with any Matrix client.

User experience

When the user is first sent a server notice, they will get an invitation to a +room (typically called 'Server Notices', though this is configurable in +homeserver.yaml). They will be unable to reject this invitation - +attempts to do so will receive an error.

Once they accept the invitation, they will see the notice message in the room +history; it will appear to have come from the 'server notices user' (see +below).

The user is prevented from sending any messages in this room by the power +levels.

Having joined the room, the user can leave the room if they want. Subsequent +server notices will then cause a new room to be created.

Synapse configuration

Server notices come from a specific user id on the server. Server +administrators are free to choose the user id - something like server is +suggested, meaning the notices will come from +@server:<your_server_name>. Once the Server Notices user is configured, that +user id becomes a special, privileged user, so administrators should ensure +that it is not already allocated.

In order to support server notices, it is necessary to add some configuration +to the homeserver.yaml file. In particular, you should add a server_notices +section, which should look like this:

server_notices:
+   system_mxid_localpart: server
+   system_mxid_display_name: "Server Notices"
+   system_mxid_avatar_url: "mxc://server.com/oumMVlgDnLYFaPVkExemNVVZ"
+   room_name: "Server Notices"
+

The only compulsory setting is system_mxid_localpart, which defines the user +id of the Server Notices user, as above. room_name defines the name of the +room which will be created.

system_mxid_display_name and system_mxid_avatar_url can be used to set the +displayname and avatar of the Server Notices user.

Sending notices

To send server notices to users you can use the +admin_api.

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