07 · Chatting on the phone: the gathering's chat

Under the baobab, conversation runs from mouth to mouth. On the network, from pocket to pocket.

The mucua can have its own chat: an XMPP — a free way of exchanging messages, like a WhatsApp nobody owns. It works without internet, only on the gathering's network, with the same accounts as the site. It has a room where everyone talks and a bot that turns what you send into knowledge items in the archive.

1. Install the app

Android. On the arrival page (chapter 06), tap ⬇ monocles chat: the app comes from the mucua itself, without internet and without a store. If the phone is old (32-bit), use the older phone link just below.

When you open the downloaded file, Android asks to allow "install apps from this source" (the browser): allow it — it's just this once. monocles is free software; the source code is right there, for whoever wants it.

iPhone. You can't install apps outside the store: install Monal from the App Store before the gathering, with internet.

Computer. Dino (Linux) or Gajim (Linux, Windows) — also better installed beforehand.

2. Log in with the site account

In the app, choose to log in with an account you already have and write:

The arrival page shows your address ready, after you log into the site. If you change your password on the site, use the new one in the chat too.

If the gathering does not have a certificate, the app may warn that it "doesn't trust" the mucua's certificate. Check that the address is the right one and accept.

3. Join the room

On the arrival page, under Join the room, tap the button with the room's name (something like evento@sala.local.baobaxia.net) — or, in the app, scan the room's QR code on the poster. The room keeps the latest messages: whoever arrives later reads what has already been said.

4. Talk to the bot

The bot is a contact like any other: baobaxia-bot@local.baobaxia.net (the button and the QR are on the arrival page). Send help to see what it can do. What is used most:

• send a photo, a video or an audio — it becomes a knowledge item in the mucua's archive; if it comes with a caption, the caption becomes the title. The answer brings the item's link;
• search jongo — searches the archive;
• article <title>, then the text, then send — writes an article.

> [📷 circle.jpg]
📝 What's the title?
> Opening circle
✅ Published: *Opening circle*
🔗 https://local.baobaxia.net/en-US/saber/3f6c…

The bot understands Portuguese, English, Spanish and Italian. Chapter 09 of Fruits of Baobáxia has all the commands.

Good to know

• Files sent in the chat can be up to 1 GB and are kept for 30 days. What you send to the bot becomes a knowledge item and stays in the archive.
• The chat lives on the mucua: the messages don't go through the internet or through any company.
• The room belongs to everyone at the gathering: don't post there what you wouldn't say out loud in the circle. To talk to just one person, add their address (username@local.baobaxia.net) as a contact.