```
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| |
| THE CONSTRUCT HAS NOT BEEN RELEASED FOR PUBLIC USE. THIS IS FOR DEVELOPERS AND DEMONSTRATION |
| ONLY. IT IS NOT COMPLETE AND REQUIRES EXPERT KNOWLEDGE TO USE. YOU ARE STILL ENCOURAGED TO TRY |
| THIS SOFTWARE AND HELP US, BUT IN AN EXPERIMENTAL SETTING ONLY. |
| |
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```
# This — is The **Construct**
It all started in 1988 when Jarkko Oikarinen developed a free and open source server
at the University of Oulu which facilitated real-time communication over the internet.
Its [derivatives](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d8/IRCd_software_implementations.png)
have underpinned the major IRC networks for decades ever since.
Due to its age and stagnation since the mid-2000's, a growing number of proprietary cloud services
have filled the vacuum of innovation. In 2014 a new approach was proposed to reinvigorate
real-time communication for free and open source software: a *federation of networks*
known as *the matrix*.
**This is the Construct** — the community's own Matrix server. It is designed to be
fast and highly scalable, and to be developed by volunteer contributors over
the internet. This mission strives to make the software easy to understand, modify, audit,
and extend. It remains true to its roots with its modular design and having minimal
requirements. Even though all of the old code has been rewritten, the same spirit and
_philosophy of its predecessors_ is still obvious throughout.
Matrix is about giving you control over your communication; Construct is about
giving you control over Matrix. Whether you are optimizing the entire protocol or
just filling a need only a few others might share: please support the project by
contributing back.