MakeArmy
sharing skills • building local networks • free and open communication
Matrix
We use Matrix for real-time community chat. It is an open protocol, not a single company, works across many apps, and supports encrypted direct messages. Our Matrix server is a Conduit instance hosted on hardware we own and operate in Rochester, New York.
If you are new to Matrix, try Element, FluffyChat, or Cinny.
Fediverse
The Fediverse is a network of independently run social platforms that can communicate with one another. Communities host their own servers, keep their own data, and still interact across the wider ecosystem.
- Lemmy - forum-style community posts
- PeerTube - videos without ad-tech
- Mastodon - short updates and discovery
- Misskey - a more artistic fediverse experience
- Pixelfed - photo journaling
- Forgejo - code, docs, and collaboration
- PrivateBin - secure snippet sharing
- Picsur - local image hosting
Rochester-area mesh communications: 585915.org
About
MakeArmy is a community initiative that helps people build skills, share knowledge, and maintain open lanes of communication without corporate or government oversight or interference.
We are based in Rochester, New York, but this is not just for Rochester. The goal is to help people strengthen their own communities wherever they are.
Many people feel isolated, overwhelmed, or powerless in the current political and corporate climate. Our answer is simple: build community capacity. Learn practical skills. Share what you know. Make it easier for neighbors to find each other, collaborate, and solve problems without waiting for permission.
Mission
Our mission is to help people rely less on fragile, corrupt, or co-opted systems and more on one another by strengthening local communities with knowledge, tools, and resilient communication.
If you are reading this from somewhere other than Rochester, you are not an outsider. Use the tools, copy the structure, and build your own local network.
What We’re Building
MakeArmy is about building and maintaining free, open, and safe spaces where people can ask questions, share notes, publish guides, and coordinate projects.
- Linux and FOSS software
- Metalworking
- Woodworking
- Electronics
- Wireless, mesh, and LoRa
- 3D printing
- CNC and fabrication
- Repair and right-to-repair
- Hydroponics
- Gardening and food systems
- Self-hosting and networking
- Mutual aid and local coordination
If it helps someone learn, build, fix, or communicate, it belongs here.
Principles
- Local: Start where you live and build something your community can use.
- Open: Share knowledge and skills to improve lives.
- Private: Use open source and privacy-respecting tools.
- Decentralized: Favor platforms that resist censorship and central control.
How to Contribute
- Share a short guide: what worked, what didn’t, and what you learned.
- Document a build: photos, parts lists, and pitfalls turn experience into durable knowledge.
- Ask questions publicly: public answers help everyone.
- Facilitate connections: introduce people with shared interests in your area.
- Start a branch: run a meetup, launch a forum, publish a directory, and tell us so we can link it.
Support the Project
Infrastructure costs money: servers, storage, backups, bandwidth, hardware, and maintenance. Support helps keep these services online and growing.