Accounts, tools, encryption, and platform safety.

Standard account creation is gated through registration tokens or operator-approved onboarding paths. This reduces automated spam, impersonation, and drive-by abuse without requiring routine users to provide identifying information.

Registration tokens may be single-use, time-limited, or revoked. If a token expires or has already been used, request a new one through the normal help path.

Standard user accounts do not require identifying information. Higher-risk roles are different. Access to community administration features, RGTV stream keys, ARGUS operator access, and other sensitive tools may require direct vetting, an application, an NDA, and enough information for RG Herd to evaluate trust and accountability.

This protects users, community groups, operators, records, and infrastructure from preventable access abuse.

Operational data is data needed to run services, protect accounts, prevent abuse, support moderation, investigate security events, maintain auditability, and keep systems reliable.

It can include account records, registration-token records, session/device information, server logs, abuse signals, moderation records, help requests, application records, stream-key records, administrative audit records, and infrastructure health signals.

A Matrix ID is the handle other users use to find and invite you. RG Herd account IDs look like @username:rgherd.com.

Your display name can be friendlier than your Matrix ID, but the Matrix ID is the stable account address.

A client is the app or web interface used to access the Matrix account. Element Web, Element Desktop, Element X, and other compatible clients can connect to Matrix accounts when configured correctly.

Different clients may expose encryption, recovery, verification, and search features differently. When in doubt, use the RG Herd setup guide and current Element documentation.

Encrypted rooms protect message and file content for participants in that encrypted conversation. This is useful for private coordination, sensitive conversations, and reducing server-side exposure of message content.

Encryption is room-specific. Not every Matrix room is automatically encrypted. Public rooms, announcement rooms, and some operational rooms may be intentionally unencrypted.

End-to-end encryption does not erase all operational metadata. Homeservers may still process account records, device/session data, room membership state, moderation records, delivery metadata, server logs, and abuse signals.

Treat encryption as strong content protection, not as a promise that every trace of platform activity disappears.

It is not possible for RG Herd to read or recover user encrypted content without the user's encryption material. RG Herd will not attempt, authorize, or permit attempts to recover encrypted user content lost because of encryption, device, session, or Recovery Key issues.

This applies whether the loss was caused by user error, device loss, client behavior, or an RG Herd service issue.

Matrix's official documentation explains that Matrix end-to-end encryption is based on Olm and Megolm, with separate device keys and room encryption behavior.

Matrix end-to-end encryption guide → Element encryption help →

Store the Recovery Key somewhere durable and private: a password manager, hardware-encrypted storage, or a secure offline physical location.

Do not post it in chat, send it casually to another person, or leave it in a place that would compromise your account if found.

You may still be able to use the account if you can log in, but old encrypted history may be unavailable on new devices.

If all devices are lost and the Recovery Key is gone, you may need to reset encryption recovery. Other users may see that your digital identity was reset, and previously verified contacts may need to verify you again.

Element documents key storage, Recovery Keys, and what happens when recovery material is lost.

Element Recovery Key help →

Element commonly uses QR-code scanning or emoji comparison for user verification. The comparison should happen through a trusted side channel, such as in person, live video, or another channel you already trust.

For new devices, verify from an existing trusted session when possible. If that is not available, use the Recovery Key.

If a contact's digital identity resets, confirm with them before assuming everything is normal. A reset often happens because someone lost all devices or recovery material, but it can also indicate a security issue.

Previously verified contacts should be re-verified after a reset.

Element's documentation explains identity pinning, user verification, digital identity reset warnings, and new-device verification.

Element verification help →

ARGUS uses tiered access. Vetted members and approved organizations may be able to add or gate responder-level users for coordination work. Deeper access, including dispatch, administration, sensitive records, or elevated operational roles, requires an ARGUS Access application and direct RG Herd vetting.

Dispatch, administration, community administration, and other sensitive ARGUS roles may require identifying information, an Administrative Access application, and a non-disclosure agreement. Sponsorship can streamline enrollment, but RG Herd retains final authority over access.

ARGUS should be used as coordination data only. Records may include operational requests, needs, resources, statuses, assignments, notes, and related coordination records. Sensitive details should move through encrypted | base | chat when appropriate.

ARGUS records may be held until purged by an administrator. Retention and purge policy may be adjusted through RG Herd's community-informed democratic procedures, subject to final RG Herd operational authority.

RG Herd support is split between member support and public contact. Active RG Herd users can use the member support form for account setup, login trouble, | base | issues, ARGUS access problems, public site issues, and related support.

People who are not active RG Herd users should use the public contact email for general help, individual access requests, group access requests, registration questions, onboarding, and community organization inquiries.

A | base | Help Bot for Matrix chat support is planned for a later phase.

Open member support form → Email RG Herd help →

RGTV streamer access is available to users in high standing and community group leaders. Stream keys require approval and a Stream Key application.

Stream access can be granted, limited, rotated, or revoked to protect the broadcast surface and the wider community.

Administrative tooling is not ordinary user access. Access to community administration features, registration controls, stream keys, ARGUS operator features, and other sensitive tools may require vetting, an Administrative Access application, identifying information, and a non-disclosure agreement.

Administrative actions are logged. Privileged workflows may be reviewed when needed for safety, auditability, abuse response, or operational integrity.

RG Herd is operated with a high-availability goal and currently presents a 99.99% uptime posture for public confidence. This is not a service guarantee.

Formal limitations, warranty language, and user obligations are governed by the RG Herd Terms of Service and Privacy & Security policy.

Read Terms → Read Privacy & Security →

RG Herd may use intrusion detection, rate limits, reputation-based reporting, access controls, forced secret rotation, and manual review to respond to spam, probing, credential attacks, evasion, and abusive behavior.

The goal is to reduce harm without forcing routine users to provide identifying information.

RG Herd retains operational data only as long as needed for service operation, safety, abuse response, moderation, auditability, or legal and technical requirements.

Forced secret rotation and retention-policy changes may be handled through RG Herd's community-informed democratic procedures, subject to final RG Herd operational authority.

Public/community RG Herd tools are open-source where practical. Private configuration, credentials, secrets, infrastructure internals, and administrative tooling are excluded.

Open-source review helps users and outside reviewers inspect the behavior of public tools rather than relying only on trust.

Community input matters, but infrastructure has legal, security, abuse, privacy, and reliability obligations that cannot be delegated to open-ended debate during an incident.

Final operator authority keeps emergency decisions, access control, and policy enforcement accountable and fast enough to protect the platform.

Active RG Herd users should use Help Intake for structured issues. Other help requests and sensitive security concerns should be directed to the public contact email unless RG Herd gives different instructions.

Do not test against RG Herd infrastructure in ways that disrupt users, bypass access controls, expose private data, or create operational risk.

Open Help Intake → Email RG Herd help →

RG Herd cannot read or recover encrypted user content without the user's encryption material. RG Herd will not attempt or allow attempts to recover user encrypted content lost because of encryption, device, session, or Recovery Key issues.

Encrypted room content may be protected, but operational metadata can still exist. Account records, device/session data, logs, room state, moderation records, help records, and abuse signals may be processed when needed.

ARGUS dispatch/admin access, RGTV stream keys, registration controls, community administration features, and other sensitive tools require approval. Access may be limited, denied, rotated, suspended, or revoked.

RG Herd may publish uptime posture and operational confidence information, but service availability, warranty limits, acceptable use, and liability are governed by the Terms of Service and Privacy & Security policy.

Read Terms → Read Privacy & Security →