Bonum Certa Men Certa

Official Policy/Statement on IRC

Palacio Legislativo en Montevi
Palacio Legislativo en Montevi



Summary: Clarifications about our position and response to various attempts to discredit Techrights based on fabrications, deliberate distortions, and malicious falsehoods

THE official IRC channel of Techrights is at irc.techrights.org, which is mirrored across to Freenode (a two-way bridge). At the moment we are assessing how to best handle duplication of messages in the daily (or nightly as per our timezone) IRC logs. IRC channels that are called #techrights in other networks have nothing to do with us. They do not represent us. One might go further and call them a hostile takeover of our identity.



"Do not trust social control media 'hearsay' and random screenshots taken our of context to incite, misinform, and discredit based on a fiction."Our IRC channels aren't censored. Statements that are made there are the opinions of pertinent people. Anybody can enter our IRC channels (they're not invite-only and we don't expel people).

We do not participate in 'IRC wars'. We've been on Freenode for more than 13 years and last year we decided it would be worthwhile having a self-hosted network for the sake of free speech and privacy. We don't wish to be at the mercy of any company, group, or clique. That would be a threat to our governance and independence.

At the moment there are numerous attempts to discredit us using out-of-context snippets uttered by people who just lurk or hang out in IRC. Those attempts come from the very same people who tried (with some degree of success) to 'cancel' Linus Torvalds and Richard Stallman. If in doubt about our position, ask core members of the site. Do not trust social control media 'hearsay' and random screenshots taken out of context to incite, misinform, and discredit based on a fiction.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Slow News, But Not Slow for Us
So far this year (maybe premature to say so because many journalists are still on holiday) the news is very, very slow
A Golden Opportunity that Canonical and IBM Intentionally Ignore (in Order to Appease Microsoft)
They're too dependent on Microsoft "sweeteners"
Canada: Windows at All-Time Lows, ChromeOS and GNU/Linux Rise to Almost 8%
It is widely known that many schools in Canada adopted ChromeOS
In Mexico, Windows Down to All-Time Low, GNU/Linux Up to All-Time High
Yesterday we showed that in North America adoption of GNU/Linux is growing fast
GNU/Linux and ChromeOS in Australia Tripled in 5 Years? That's How statCounter Sees It....
Based on statCounter...
GNU/Linux Reaches 5% in Indonesia (Population Size Near 300 Million)
You would need not envy "Microsoft Indonesia" right now
GNU/Linux Back to 5% in 2025
That's not counting ChromeOS
GNU/Linux Gained About 0.5% Last Year, According to StatCounter
2024 ended with "proper" GNU/Linux at +0.4%, ChromeOS at +0.1% (based on statCounter/StatCounter)
 
For Software Freedom (and for Broader Personal Freedom), the Goalposts Are Moving
we need to open up our eyes and identify/classify other threats, such as social control media
Engineering Things to Last 70 Years in an 8-Bit, 16-Bit, and 32-Bit World
Nowadays they make things that barely last 7 years
GNU/Linux Rose to 5% in Belgium (It Was 1.66% Last January)
Trebling in 12 months, according to statCounter
[Memes] Two Dictators. Donald Trump Loves TikTok.
This is a problem
Jeff Bezos (Washington Post) Spreads Political Propaganda Against the Internet (and the Web)
Then people wonder why trust in the media has gotten so low
[Meme] Crushing Free Speech Before Even Taking Public Office...
someone who isn't even president is already meddling
[Meme] Be a Good and Obedient Citizen. Use Microsoft Windows.
Microsoft actively works with China to censor search results and spy on citizens
In Hong Kong and Taiwan People Flock to GNU/Linux (Unlike Windows, GNU/Linux Doesn't Capture Screenshots of Everything You Do and Add Back Doors to Encryption)
Hong Kong and Taiwan have bright engineers. They know Windows is a joke.
The Free Software Foundation Extends Cutoff Date (Two More Weeks), Raises About 330,000 Dollars
Isn't it predictable that people who worked for Microsoft GitHub gave money to some unscrupulous lawyers in London to harass us?
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, January 02, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, January 02, 2025
Windows Falls to ~22% in France and Spain, Based on statCounter
Windows 'corrected' at 22% "market share" in France - i.e. roughly the same as Spain
Gemini Links 02/01/2025: Goals 2025, Microsofter Clickbaiting Again, Advice for the Newbie or Returning Perl Hacker
Links for the day
When Your Get Your "Latest Technology News" From an LLM Slop Farm
They still call themselves "BetaNews" (the word "news" is in the name)
[Meme] Wrestling With Pigs in Social Control Media
“Never wrestle with pigs. You both get dirty and the pig likes it.” ― George Bernard Shaw
Even Worse Than Racism at the Linux Foundation
And worse than corporate colonialism
It's Not Just MElon X, President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, All Social Control Media is Basically a Digital Weapon
The question is, what are you going to do about it?
Microsoft Especially Important to Phoronix (It Also Gives Gifts to Phoronix)
A whole section devoted to Microsoft, mostly with puff pieces/ads of proprietary things
Microsoft Plummets to New Lows in Azerbaijan
Perhaps the Azerbaijani population is looking for something other than the NSA's foremost facilitator
We Need Something More Like DMOZ, Not Search Engines and Bill-Funded Wikipedia (Censoring Unfaltering Information About Powerful People and Institutions)
era of LLMs trained on Wikipedia... Microsoft tried - and failed - to game the narrative to the same extent Google does
Tens of Billions of Dollars Down the Drain (Microsoft Lost the Search "Arms Race" or Market)
But caused injury to itself and others, just like with Nokia in mobile
Seems Like GNU/Linux Usage Doubled in Japan Last Year
So says statCounter data anyway
GNU/Linux Measured at 4.4% in South America and 3.34% in Africa, Based on 2025's Preliminary Data
All-time highs
GNU/Linux Leaps to 6% in the United States of America (Not Even Counting ChromeOS)
Additionally, the FSF in Boston is managing well
GNU/Linux Usage in Europe Leaps Above 6% in 2025
This is a big deal because a lot of Microsoft's revenue came from Europe
Windows Falls to 22.5% Worldwide, Android Up to 48%
The world's (by far) biggest populations don't use Windows much
Links 02/01/2025: Production of Apple Vision Pro Halted, More on Public Domain Day 2025
Links for the day
Links 02/01/2025: OpenAI Whistleblower Suchir Balaji Alleged to Have Been Murdered, Islamic Terrorism in New Orleans
Links for the day
Gemini Links 02/01/2025: Friends, Blunder Valley, and New Year
Links for the day
Links 02/01/2025: Violence Crisis in South Africa and Arrest Warrant for South Korean Leadership
Links for the day
Rumour: IBM Will Try to Induce Mass Resignations This Month Using R.T.O. (Just Like Amazon Does This Month)
Amazon will start some of this in March, sources have told us
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, January 01, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, January 01, 2025
Last Day of 2024 Was Spent by Brittany Day Publishing Only Fake 'Articles' (LLM Slop) About "Linux", Joined by Serial Slopper Brian Fagioli
Not even a holiday was enough to stop Day from "spamming" the Web with fake 'articles' (LLM slop) about "Linux"
Gemini Links 01/01/2025: Looking Back at 2024 and Happy 2025
Links for the day
Addendum: What the Software Freedom Law Center (SFLC) Really Is
Not serum free light chains (SFLC)
Microsoft FakeHub: Identity Theft in Microsoft GitHub (Microsoft Won't Bother Addressing It; It Gives a False Impression of Adoption by GNU/Linux Veterans)
This is the same company that kept intact deleted accounts and counted them as if they're live and active (to hide the gradual abandonment and demise of the "hub")
Microsoft Tries to Force People Into Vista 11 by Stopping Vista 10 Patching, Herding Them Into TPMdom
It's backfiring
CyberShow Blog Upgraded, RSS Feed Added
CyberShow Blog has just had somewhat of a facelift
Sitting on a Mountain of Money (Almost 8 Million Dollars) is "Pro Bono"
Does the general public realise what SFC is?
Software Freedom Conservancy Inc (SFC) Lost Revenue and Also Got Rid of "Senior Director of Diversity and Inclusion" (Sage A Sharp, Formerly Known as Sarah Sharp, Who Ran an Ill-Spirited Campaign Against Linus Torvalds, Theodore Tso, and Other Prominent Linux Developers)
Not much needs to be said; a little needs to be shown (from an authoritative source, the IRS)
In Operating Systems, Google Was the Biggest Winner in 2024
Nevertheless, 10% of the managers are to be laid off shortly (after a leak led to confirmation by the CEO)
FSF-EEE (Colonial Splinter Group Based in Germany) Promotes Microsoft
New and misleading
Did GAFAM or IBM 'Downgrade' Pensions to 'Insurance' (Which Can be Denied)?
'Insurance' does not mean what it may sound like
Gemini Protocol Continued to Grow in 2024
it's no longer hosted from home
Geoffrey Knauth, FSF President and Treasurer, Comments on the FSF Raising Over $300,000
Now almost $304,000
Links 01/01/2025: Whistleblowers Shunned, EU/Germany Blasts Twitter (X, MElon) Interference
Links for the day
Mother of OpenAI Whistleblower Says Her Son Was Murdered (He Accused OpenAI of Copyright Violations at a Massive Scale, OpenAI is Running Out of Money That It Borrowed)
"Mother of OpenAI Whistleblower Alleges He Was Murdered, Says There Were Signs of Struggle"
Housekeeping and Productivity
The less we tinker with those things (system administration tasks), the more we can write and curate links
The Engineering Side in 2024: A Look Back, Taking Stock
uptime was somewhere around 99.95%
Dr. Andy Farnell Nominates Gromit the Dog "as an Unlikely Hacker Hero."
The world needs more decent engineers
The Free Software Foundation's (FSF) Holiday Fund-Raising Campaign Reaches About $303,000
in some parts of the US it's still 2024
[Meme] The Microsoft Syndrome
Typical Microsoftism
Gemini Links 01/01/2025: Reflecting on 2024 and FSMs
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, December 31, 2024
IRC logs for Tuesday, December 31, 2024