Bonum Certa Men Certa

Logging IRC From Self-Hosted and From Third Party (But Very Large) IRC Networks

Video download link



Summary: Instead of fighting one another we encourage people to foster a healthier dialogue and, if possible, also take control of their IRC channels (those can in turn be connected to larger networks using bridges)

NOW that we are self-hosting IRC and feel confident about the bridging (to networks outside our own) we thought it would be worthwhile limiting the logging to just one network, as the video above explains. At least 3 people have already complained (out in the open) that there are duplicate entries/messages in the logs -- an issue we're aware of. It was meant to ensure we don't just drop or lose some messages because at various phases 3 networks were joined or cobbled together.



"A lot of IRC, especially the topology, became like social control media or clown computing -- basically leaning towards centralisation with the so-called 'network effect' (it can be hard to leave an existing network because of all the people who are there and only there)."Waging cross-network wars isn't productive. It's actually harmful for a number or reasons that we've mentioned before. A lot of the trouble can be avoided or at least mitigated when there's no single point of failure, especially when there's something self-hosted that one can control. A lot of IRC, especially the topology, became like social control media or clown computing -- basically leaning towards centralisation with the so-called 'network effect' (it can be hard to leave an existing network because of all the people who are there and only there).

Fediverse logoIn order to make IRC stronger (as a protocol, community and so on) it would be wise to advise self-hosting where possible, then federating with large networks. The former gives governance advantages (privacy, free speech etc.) whereas the latter gives access to a large number of people, akin to what happens in the Fediverse sans the disk space and bandwidth overhead (a simple one-user instance can take up a lot of resources and become a pain to maintain/secure in the long run).

As we've said right from the very start (nearly a month ago), hostile cliques can form inside networks, in effect using their power over those networks (or misusing privileges, e.g. banning users, spying on users) to promote some personal agenda.

Being difficult to censor and/or spy on is a great strength. The EPO has been trying to cancel and deplatform us for more than 7 years; Benoît Battistelli prevented all the EPO workers (about 7,000 at the time) accessing Techrights from work and António Campinos maintains that ban for no reason other than it's embarrassing to the management (albeit perfectly true; leaks don't lie). In order to achieve something, e.g. in the fight against European software patents, we must also combat censorship. Taking control of our means of communication is an important step towards that.

Putin Popcorn: IRC infighting? I like!The video above focuses on how we publish logs and the fact that this morning we've finally tackled duplicates. More observations are made along the way. The main reason we stay on Freenode is that we've there for over 13 years (no preference or choice per se; it was just "the place to be" back then*). But we hope that over time more people will recognise the advantages envisioned for the self-hosted network and move over to that. No pressure, no rush. ____ * And it's not going away, it is here to stay because the dust has mostly settled (see weekly chart). It has many servers in many places. The Open and Free Technology Community (OFTC) is also doing reasonably well with nearly 20,000 channels. Stop fighting, start organising, add more IRC networks to tackle oligopolies. IRC as a whole is stronger when there's no single point of failure.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Changing One's Name Won't Change One's Past
People who have earned a bad reputation are not magically "entitled" to reset
People Who Assault Women Are Not Victims of "Distress"
It seems like an American tradition. In a country with almost 50 presidents, not even one was a female.
Adoption of Gemini Protocol Still Growing
Gemini Protocol is being obscured by the media - it doesn't help that Google 'hijacked' the word "Gemini" - but people still manage to find out about it, download a client, and use it
Brett Wilson LLP "Takes it Personal" (Character Assassination, Not Professionalism). Everybody Can See That.
On behalf of violent men
Pissing Contests and Pissing Off Everyone
people who came from Microsoft are trying to vex and divide the community
Microsoft Repeats the Mistakes Made by the EPO After We Exposed a Major Microsoft/EPO Scandal 10 Years Ago
That scandal was all over the media, not just in English
 
Links 14/07/2025: Chatbots Broken Again, McHire LLM Shows Limits of the Hype
Links for the day
Slashdot Media Turned Linux Journal Into a Slopfarm and Now Slashdot Actively Promotes Anti-Linux Slopfarms
Yes, "no-nonsense" apparently means actual nonsense
Links 14/07/2025: Arresting Photographers, Threats to Revoke US Citizenship Over Criticism
Links for the day
More EPO Leaks on the Way
We hope that Mr. Rowan will actually try to refute what we say and show, not merely point the finger at the messengers
Decommodification is a Corporate Strategy Against Communities
systemd is led by Microsoft and hosted by Microsoft
copyleft.org 'Hijacked' by the People Who Attack the Person Who Created Copyleft
So far there's nothing "tasteless" in copyleft.org, but that can change at any time in the future
Asking People to Take Down Articles and Videos Only Makes These More Popular and "Viral"
If you do something bad, one of the worst things you can possibly do it try to silence those who speak about it
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, July 13, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, July 13, 2025
Two-Thirds Towards FSF Goal, Richard Stallman to Give Talks in Europe
There are 67 left before reaching the target
Gemini Links 14/07/2025: Politicised Tech and "Leaving GitHub"
Links for the day
The Demise of LLMs
We've just checked BetaNews again. They've dropped all the slop and went back to human authors.
Gemini Links 13/07/2025: Sonpo Museum of Art and FCEUX
Links for the day
Links 13/07/2025: UnitedHealth's Censorship Campaign, Australia Wary of China
Links for the day
Firing Away With Nonsense
Or fighting fire with fire
Links 13/07/2025: Climate Crisis, GAFAM Poisoning the Water
Links for the day
Turns Out LLMs for Code Don't Save Time and Don't Improve Quality
Neither legal nor useful
The Microsofters Will Have an Obligation to Compensate Us
This story isn't just about Microsoft. It's also about corruption, there are many women victims, there is abject "abuse of process", and many more scandals to be illuminated in years to come.
Reproducing at the EPO Instead of Producing Monopolies for Foreign Monopolies With Their Price-Fixing Cartels
Does the EPO recognise the need of well-educated Europeans to bear kids?
Valnet Inc. Dominates Real (Not LLM Slop) GNU/Linux Coverage in 2025
And likely in prior years, too
Free Software Foundation (FSF) Fund Raiser Goes on
Later this month we'll expose another OSI scandal
EPO Staff Representatives Issue a Warning About Staff's Health and Inadequate Care
Even the EPO's own stakeholders (money sources) are openly protesting against what the EPO became
Links 13/07/2025: Partly Assorted News From Deutsche Welle and CBC
Links for the day
Gemini Links 13/07/2025: Board Games and Battle Styles
Gemini Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, July 12, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, July 12, 2025
Plunder at the Second-Largest Institution in Europe
cuts, neglect, health problems, even early deaths
Links 12/07/2025: Political Developments, Attack on Opposition, Climate Actions
Links for the day
Gemini Links 12/07/2025: Melodic Musings and Small Web July
Links for the day
Links 12/07/2025: Jail in China for Homoerotica, South Korea Discriminates Against Old Workers
Links for the day
If Only Everything Was Rewritten in Rust, We'd Have No More Security Issues?
Nope.
Links 12/07/2025: Birdwatching and Fake/Misleading Wall Street 'Valuation' Figures
Links for the day
Gemini Links 12/07/2025: How to Avoid Writing, Apps for Android
Links for the day
Using SLAPPs to Cover Up Sexual Abuse and Strangulation
The exact same legal team of the Serial Strangler from Microsoft and Garrett already has a history fighting against "metoo"
EPO Staff Committee on Harassment in the Workplace
slides
Adding the Voice of Writers to UK SLAPP Reform
The journey to repair antiquated (monarchy era) laws will likely be long
EPO Takes More Money From Staff for Speculation (Pensions), Actuarial Study Explains the Impact
"The key change in this year’s Actuarial Study, due to cascading the new “risk appetite” from the financial study, is a significant increase of the total pension contribution rate of 5.7 percentage points, up to a total of 37.8%. This is driven by an unprecedented decrease in the discount rate of 105 bps down to 2.2%."
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, July 11, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, July 11, 2025