Summary: Freenode is now down to just 13,194 online users, which makes it the 6th biggest IRC network. Months ago it was #1 with almost 6 times as many users as those below it. The graph above shows what the latest blunder has done (another massive drop in less than a week, with a poem and the all-time chart at the very bottom).
Freenode is FOSS
So said the BOSS
ROOT gave a TOSS
Wanted us to trust the ToS
Onboard came the edgy
It seemed kind of sketchy
Database down with the wedgie
IRC.com is fund-hedgy
No more anon access
Users and channels gettin' nervous
A "RITUAL DEFAMATION" thesis
But self-harm being the Nemesis
On 28th May 2026 EPO President António Campinos paid a visit to the Most Serene Republic of San Marino where he was received with full diplomatic honours
"Lawyers who front SLAPP‑style threats on behalf of powerful institutions are not “defending reputation”; they are abusing legal process to intimidate and silence legitimate public‑interest scrutiny."
The industry in its current form acts a bit more like a cabal of power-hungry companies that actively try to back-door everything and smear people who oppose that