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Introduction to Techrights IRC

IRC channels



Summary: A sort of belated primer regarding our IRC channels; these remain our main collaboration tool for real-time interactions (since 2008)

Techrights IRC channels go back more than 12 years (hence the channels with "boycottnovell" still in them; it's a legacy feature or artifact). There are 4 channels and one of them is mostly used to retain local copies of Social Control Media posts; historically this was done for about a dozen regulars of ours, using Identi.ca (and later Twitter) APIs; when Twitter shut down these APIs 2 years ago we resorted to Pleroma/Fediverse (a bot called "viera" was developed for us, for this very purpose), so the number of people echoed was significantly reduced. Many are, sadly enough, not on Fediverse (and not because they're too busy blogging).

"Nowadays the main channel has in it between 60 to 70 people (plus bots) constantly lurking. Some people do not lurk in IRC but instead read the logs to keep abreast (happenings behind the scenes)."In a sense, going back to these Identi.ca roots (Fediverse is only partly compatible with what was once known as StatusNet) is a gain for freedom and for Free software, even if the paradigm itself -- namely Social Control Media -- is deeply flawed.

Nowadays the main channel has in it between 60 to 70 people (plus bots) constantly lurking. Some people do not lurk in IRC but instead read the logs to keep abreast (happenings behind the scenes). Sometimes E-mail provides a sort of 'feedback loop' between log lurkers and IRC lurkers (they can communicate with one another days apart). We facilitate those kinds of discussions.

While we don't need to talk about who's who (some people prefer their pseudonyms and their privacy; they're reasonably technical and privacy-conscious), there's something to be said about the IRC logs.

Logging



It all started in 2008. Keith from Slated.org helped set up the main and first channel. The channels were logged on multiple machines and logs published on a daily basis since the early days (my workstation in Manchester University used to be the fallback machine, sitting there in the shared office with XChat in the background). Some time around 2011 -- or maybe a year later -- the logs were published less regularly because the workflow was labour-intensive and sometimes I was physically away. Mark, who is based in Canada, has a server sitting on the channels logging it for us in case the connection goes offline here in the UK. Logging is nowadays also being done in the US. So three different countries do the logging, which improves robustness (avoiding data loss/textual lapses) by redundancy. Netsplits and Freenode downtime incidents -- however rare these may be -- can be compensated for (by having logs from both sides of the 'split'). We improved these mechanisms over the years. Not even prolonged power outages would lead to data loss.

"Netsplits and Freenode downtime incidents -- however rare these may be -- can be compensated for (by having logs from both sides of the 'split')."Last summer or in early autumn (we published some logs retroactively) we worked to address that lack of automation and resumed publishing logs every day at roughly the same time. The logs are typically generated, manually, some time after midnight and then uploaded. Supervised by a person, the process is less error-prone. Two people check the process.



Redaction



There are two levels of redaction. One pertains to pre-pasting of material onto channels and another is done, albeit very rarely, after something is said publicly (in IRC, but not in logs). This can be due to a privacy issue, a pasting malfunction, or a request (it's rare but it happens). We don't just publish everything irresponsibly. We carefully check that nothing illegal, for example, is being done or promoted. Considering the fact we're censorship-free, the channels are still surprisingly civil and most of the time they're professional enough. Profanities aren't being censored; we detest censorship. Profanity is part of human nature and deletion won't change that nature.

How to Join Us



The channels can be accessed using a Web browser or using an IRC client. The main channel is #techrights at irc.freenode.org (the less important channels are #boycottnovell, #techbytes and #boycottnovell-social; there's also #tuxmachines, but that's a different site).

"It probably shouldn't be too shocking that many of the IRC discussion lead to topics and angles covered here on a daily basis (in wiki and blog form)."We're always attentive and there's always somebody ready to reply, provided one waits long enough because people are "away from keyboard" (afk) a lot of the time. Sometimes people drop by, say a few words, then disappear after about a minute, not giving even an opportunity to respond. 4 of my screens show me 4 IRC channels in tandem, but rather than or instead relying on alerts/notifications I depend on motion (screen changes) to detect activity because it is a lot less distracting.

It probably shouldn't be too shocking that many of the IRC discussion lead to topics and angles covered here on a daily basis (in wiki and blog form). The community generally grew over time and we're proud to say no censorship or "CoC" was needed; it would only harm the general atmosphere. We're an unmoderated forum. We're also transparent enough that the concept of "techrightsGate" or "techrightsLeaks" is ludicrous at best; it would not reveal anything that's not already publicly accessible to all.

Recent Techrights' Posts

[Video] Richard Stallman's Talk in Sweden, Attended by Nearly 700 People, is Now Online
The Web page is in Swedish, but the talk is in English
Coping With the Site Going More Mainstream
Fame is no laughing matter
21 Pages in Less Than 7 Hours is No Joking Matter
We've become a lot more effective and efficient
Generation Chaff - Phase V: Censorship of Dissent (Painted as Harassment or Terrorism)
Censorship is all around us now
Generation Chaff - Phase IV: Apps Only Few Companies Decide On
Tools are being collectively confiscated, under the premise or false prospect of "security"
 
The Serial Slopper Starts Up - or Restarts - His Plagiarism Machine (LLMs)
Serial Sloppers like these don't belong in news sites. That's why he got sacked by BetaNews.
Links 24/10/2025: Esperanto Music History, Anxiety, and New Portals
Links for the day
Slopwatch: LinuxSecurity.com, Linux Journal, and Pet Slopfarms of Google News
Why does Google News still advance these fake sites to the top of search results?
Links 24/10/2025: Inequality Grows, Billion-Dollar Scam Center Industry
Links for the day
Links 24/10/2025: "Independent Media in Cambodia is Collapsing" and Serious F5 Breach
Links for the day
They Never 'Put Down' Corporations
There are "pests" that are traded in Wall Street
Correct Information is a Valued Asset in the Age of Slopfarms and Public Relations (PR) or Spin
Publishing suppressed facts is never easy
The Register MS Continues to Bag Money to Promote a Ponzi Scheme, Even Money From China
Today in the front page
analytics.usa.gov: The Only Supported Version of Windows (This Past Week) is Only Used by About 13.9% of People in the US, the Home Base of Windows
Even Vista 7 is still used more
Rust is Very Secure
If only Rust itself is secure
Who Will be Held Accountable for Breaking Ubuntu by Imposing Rust on Otherwise-Functional Programs, in Effect Replacing GNU With Proprietary Microsoft (GitHub)?
they're practical people who merely point out that a bunch of buffoons not only ruin Ubuntu but also every future distro based on Ubuntu
Generation Chaff - Phase VIII: In Summary
Like "Science" with a capital "S", what we see here commercial interests usurping everything
Generation Chaff - Phase VII: Curtailing Alternative Media
There was always an obligation - a collective duty of sorts - to uphold independent journalism
Generation Chaff - Phase VI: Centralisation of Information (X, Cheetok/Fentanylware)
Would you trust information when controlled by such people?
Generation Chaff - Phase III: Slop and Plagiarism
A lot of the current so-called 'economy' is built upon false valuations
Generation Chaff - Phase II: "Cloud", Blockchains and Other Hype
For those of us who turned down those propositions there was a struggle; we needed to justify not having skinnerboxes or "social" accounts in some site run by a private company
Generation Chaff - Phase I: Social Control Media
IRC predates the Web
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, October 23, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, October 23, 2025
More Clues Shed on Collapse of Microsoft XBox
XBox is basically circling down the drain as Microsoft implements 2-3 waves of layoffs each month
'Vibe Coding' Doesn't Work
In a lot of ways, so-called 'Vibe Coding' is already considered vapourware or a passing fad promoted in the media by managers who try to justify mass layoffs, especially ridding companies of "very expensive" software engineers
Links 24/10/2025: Microsoft's Killing of XBox Connected to Revenue/Profit Problems, "How Elon Musk Ruined Twitter"
Links for the day
Gemini Links 24/10/2025: 86,400 Seconds and "Society's Task"
Links for the day
Slopwatch: Google News and Slopfarms That Relay Nonsense From LLMs
Google News, which once prioritised or used to care about provenance and quality, is feeding slopfarms
Links 23/10/2025: More Health Concerns Over Dumb Chatbots (LLMs) and "Talking Cars" as Latest Buzz
Links for the day
Gemini Links 23/10/2025: Daylight Savings Time and Duration Shorthand
Links for the day
Links 23/10/2025: LLM 'Hallucinations' (Defects) in Practical Code 'Generation', China Becomes More Economically and Technologically Independent
Links for the day
Why We Support Richard Stallman and You Probably Should Too
It's not about being "Richard Stallman fan", it is about maintaining the right to hold positions (on technology) like his
Linux Foundation Uses LLM Slop to Promote Microsoft in Linux.com (Again), Rendering It a Linux-Hostile Slopfarm
Openwashing with slop by "Linux.com Editorial Staff", which basically seems to be a bot
Some Large German Media Covers Richard Stallman's Talks in Germany Earlier This Week
LLM-based chatbots are just "bullshit generators" (as he has long called them)
Links 23/10/2025: Windows TCO Galore and "The Internet Is Going to Break Again"
Links for the day
Trouble in Red Hat/IBM and a Retreat to Ponzi Economics in Search of Wall Street Market Heist
Would you invest your life savings in this kind of crap?
Who Asked Software in the Public Interest (SPI) for a Refund? ($100,000, Resulting in Losses of $267,201 in 12 Months, Highest-Ever Losses)
The IRS does not reveal who or what's tied to this refund (or the cause/reason)
Social engineering attack: Debian voted to trick you on binary blobs
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Techrights Will Always Stand for Women's Rights
We even invest money - personal savings that it - in our principles
Certified Lawyers Should Know Better (Than to Intimidate Us With Man Who Drives on Motorcycle Through a Really Bad Storm Between Distant Cities, Then Collects Photos of Our Home)
Mentioning someone was in prison for bad things isn't a crime, it's a public service
The "AI" (Slop) Bubble is Already Imploding
"ChatGPT Usage Has Peaked and Is Now Declining, New Data Finds"
The So-called "Sexy" Buckets (AI, Quantum) Cannot Save IBM From Reality, Shares Tank
"No matter how much financial hocus-pocus they use to reclassify revenues to land in the "sexy" buckets (AI, Quantum), it still smells old and musty - just like this company."
Paul Krugman is Wrong About the Scope of Mass Layoffs in the United States
A few years ago society was accelerating its journey towards feudalism, boosted by COVID-19
Links 23/10/2025: Proprietary Blunders and CISA's Latest Disclosure of Holes
Links for the day
Gemini Links 23/10/2025: Fast Past (F1), 99.9% Uptime
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, October 22, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, October 22, 2025
Slopwatch: Google News is Promoting Fake 'Articles' About Fake Xubuntu, Fake Articles About Replacing Windows With GNU/Linux
The quality of the Web deteriorates and unless someone cleans up the mess, real sites will lose an incentive to produce anything
When "AI Layoffs" Mean Layoffs Due to the "AI" Bubble Popping
many people that are laid off by Microsoft claim to be specialists in "AI"
Mysterious grant forfeited, $100,000 from Software in the Public Interest accounts 2023
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Evidence: bullying, student union behaviour: Armijn Hemel's FSFE resignation
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Evidence: psychological abuse, stalking, Galia Mancheva, Susanne Eiswirt ignored by FSFE judgment for Matthias Kirschner
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Helping FSFE scam victims and conference organisers
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Nigerian fraud in FSFE constitution
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Worrying and Amusing Stories of "Clown Computing" Gone Awry
Many of these disasters could be avoided
Links 22/10/2025: Amazon Plans to Replace Workers With Robotics, AWS and Clown Computing in General Ridiculed
Links for the day
Gemini Links 22/10/2025: Niri Completely Changes Multitasking and Overview of Diff-ers
Links for the day
Links 22/10/2025: Study on Misinformation by Slop and Heavily Debt-Sabbled Microsoft OpenAI (ClosedSlop) Uses "Browser" as Gimmick/Distraction
Links for the day
They've Already Spent Close to a Million Dollars on Lawyers and Sent Us About 50 KG of Legal Papers (Sponsored by Mysterious Third Party) to Try to Censor Techrights, Without Success
They try to overcompensate with sheer volume for a lack of solid, clear arguments (we are the victims here)
12 Months Ago the 'Hulk Hogan of UEFI' Officially Went 'Tag-Team'
We're actually sort of flattered or proud that such despicable people are so desperate to censor us
"Cloud Computing" Was Always a Joke, But This Week Was the Punchline
Maybe stop following tech trends and fashions
"Cloud Computing" Does Not Mean Safety
Fault tolerance is related to the notion of software freedom
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, October 21, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, October 21, 2025
The Fall of Windows: From Something to Nothing
Of course Microsoft will pretend everything is fine and "just trust the hey hi" (AI)