THIS morning we studied and chronicled banners in the Freenode Web site. Our objective was to better understand how that space was historically used, as some now alleged that it's being misused albeit the current sponsor is generally symbiotic (to some degree) with the goals of Free software, after which the network is called (when it was set up "Open Source" wasn't yet a 'thing'). PIA is a privacy company (prove us otherwise, we're all ears), so that too isn't in contradiction with the goals of Free software. Compare that to the Linux Foundation taking money from (selling seats to) companies that attack Linux...

"Don't rush towards loose judgment until all the facts are known."The video above ended up being a lot longer than I had anticipated because I generally have a lot to say and I feel like Freenode is being unfairly treated, not just by the media but also some former staff/volunteers, who are eager to control the network entirely (themselves). Some people who promote the latest alternative to Freenode are obviously without a moral compass (or just trolling); they even spam and abuse channels today. This isn't a way to promote alternatives but to alienate people, even misleading them.

A lot of us are watching the situation and monitoring statements from Freenode (now under management more closely controlled by PIA). We will post updates with our interpretations every now and then. For the time being we urge people and channels/projects that are on Freenode to stay there. Don't rush towards loose judgment until all the facts are known. ⬆