Bonum Certa Men Certa

Increasing Transparency (Operational and Technical) at Techrights

Code and IRC logs

Enter the IRC channels now



Transparency



Summary: Publication of IRC logs to return to being a daily occurrence (that used to be done on a daily basis more than a decade ago, then weekly, monthly, 3 times per year); there's more time-sensitive information which may or may not be useful for non-lurkers

TECHRIGHTS turns 13 next month. The IRC channels are almost as old as that. They've always been logged and transcripts published (sometimes sans IP addresses) because we choose a maximal -- provided it's safe -- level of transparency. A lot is included in these logs and they can be searched.



"They've always been logged and transcripts published (sometimes sans IP addresses) because we choose a maximal -- provided it's safe -- level of transparency."In 2015 or thereabouts we published almost no logs for over a year. That was due to the intense atmosphere at the European Patent Office (EPO); Office spies were trying to identify sources of ours (whistle-blowers), but as far as we know they always failed. Over a year later we caught up with all the logs; on very rare occasions when something very sensitive gets published we redact. It's extremely rare and it typically involves just rubbing out a name or address. It happens at most once or twice a year.

Back in the early days we published logs every single day (or night); even if that meant bring groggy late at night just to get it 'out there'. Over time these releases became less frequent because the process is time-consuming. Some of the discussions that we nowadays have in IRC are important and if they age they become less relevant. So Techrights will try to get back to 2009/2010 and post logs on a daily basis again (as it had done since the very beginning). We'll try our best to publish IRC logs on a daily basis, not 3 times a year. This requires some coding and a daily routine. Somebody also volunteered to help.

"So Techrights will try to get back to 2009/2010 and post logs on a daily basis again (as it had done since the very beginning)"The coding isn't particularly sophisticated; it's mostly automation of processing and workflow. There may be some bugs (yet to be discovered) at first. At one point we'll put together the code and post it online, perhaps weeks after we resume Techrights IRC logs' publication on a daily basis; we want to iron out some bugs. There are other bits of code that we developed to help write and run Techrights; there may be a public repository for it some time soon.

There are many new regulars in the IRC channels. Some (but not all) of that is related to recent events, notably the witch hunt against Richard Stallman (RMS)

"We believe that increased transparency can reduce the chance of misunderstandings and suspicion.""As someone else rather recently alluded to," an associate of ours wrote, "and as mentioned in the other message, CoC == Malleus Hackerum [based upon Malleus Maleficarum by Heinrich Kramer and Jacob Sprenger]. The goal is not to help anyone but simply to shutdown any and all proponents of Software Freedom under the false mask of helping someone else because the CoCs always have been applied very selectively. This has been shown again and again where ever CoCs have been forced into projects. But as we see with both RMS and Guido Van Rossum, it is possible to kick out the leader without a CoC."

We believe that increased transparency can reduce the chance of misunderstandings and suspicion. For those wishing to know what goes on behind the scenes these logs offer insight.

Recent Techrights' Posts

BetaNews Appears to Have Fired All Of Its Staff
Even serial sloppers
Gemini Protocol Turns 6 on Friday
Active (online) Gemini capsules are estimated by Lupa at over 3,000
 
Links 17/06/2025: Windows TCO and G7 Rifts
Links for the day
The Right to Know and the Freedom to Report on Crime (at the Higher Echelons)
I'd like to do the same thing for the next 20 years
After the Web Becomes Slopped to Death
A lot of people are rightly fed up with the "modern" Web
Microsoft's Windows is a Niche Operating System in Africa
African nations aren't a large contributor to Microsoft's income, but if many African nations move away from Windows, then the monopoly is at risk
Like Most Social Control Media, Microsoft LinkedIn is Collapsing
One reason for Microsoft acquisitions is debt-loading, i.e. offloading and burying its debt
Microsoft is Losing Its Richest Clients
Unlike some very poor countries, Germany and the EU are a considerable source of income to Microsoft
Proprietary Means Not Secure
Proprietary software tends to rely on secrecy, not good design
Slop in 'AI' Clothing is a Passing Fad, We'll Get Past It (Like Blockchain Before That)
Many people cheat in exams using slop and there are professionals that try using slop as a "shortcut"
GNOME Does Not Campaign Against Microsoft, KDE Does
It's good to see that KDE is still active in promotion of Free software - a term that it uses
Slopwatch: BetaNews, Linuxsecurity, and Other Prolific Slopfarms
name and shame the sites that establish such proliferation of slop
Gemini Links 18/06/2025: Birch Lake and Loon Pond
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Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, June 17, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, June 17, 2025
Links 17/06/2025: "The Grift Economy" and Kubernetes Does Proprietary
Links for the day
Microsoft's "FUD-as-a-Service" (Against Linux) Not Functioning Well
This is the kind of contribution companies like Microsoft and Google have to offer to society
Betanews Becoming a Slopfarm is "Betanews Growing Alongside You", According to Betanews
Their first 'article' in over two weeks is 52% "AI-generated" (slop), 33% mixed (edited slop), 18% human-written, says an advanced scanner.
Coffee Day and LLM Sloppers
The LLM slop "bros" are a lot like fake-money bros; they lie to people, they boast that they lie to people, and they're generally bad people, BS artists in colloquial terms
Double-Dipping the Docket for Microsoft Glory and Censorship of Microsoft Critics
same lawyer, same barrister, all US, all Microsoft
TheLayoff Censorship of IBM Threads Has Gone Truly Ludicrous
we do not argue that TheLayoff should not cull LLM slop
More Stallmanites Added to FSF Board and Summer Fundraiser Commences
There's some good news from the FSF
Gemini Links 17/06/2025: Consistency and Notes About NixOS
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, June 16, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, June 16, 2025
July 2 2025 Would Not be First Big Wave of Microsoft Layoffs Before Major National Holiday
July 2 or 3 mark the start of a very long weekend in the US
IDG's NetworkWorld Seems to Have Just Become LLM Slop
If IDG (now controlled by China) does that in at least one site, why not the rest? Only a matter of time?
Gemini Links 16/06/2025: Free Lunches and Bookmarklet for Mastodon
Links for the day
IBM: Less Than a Month's Severance for Each Decade of Service
Yes, decade!
Taking a Lesson From Denmark and Greenland? Iceland Shows New Lows for Windows, All-Time Highs for GNU/Linux
If Microsoft sabotages systems of judges at the Hague (in order to appease the insane man who wanted to invade Greenland), why won't its neighbour Iceland take note?
BetaNews Has Just Deleted Its Latest 'Article' or Got Cracked Again and Restored From Outdated Backup Again
BetaNews seems to be in some serious trouble right now
Software Freedom is "Activism" Because the Corporate Agenda Revolves Around Bribery, Deceit, and Betrayal
At the end Software Freedom will win because it's on the same side as truth and lawfulness
The EPO, Europe's Largest Patent Office, Admits Outsourcing to Microsoft Slop
Their sole goal is to make more money
Links 16/06/2025: EchoLeak and NASA Teaming up With India
Links for the day
The Better the Understanding or the More Nations Understand the Threat Posed by Microsoft, the Faster It'll be Eradicated
We believe that the thing to advocate is self-hosting and Free software... A lack of simplicity or absence of alternatives is a form of vendor lock-in
A Week of Sunlight
They say transparency is like sunlight to a vampire
"Linux" Sites That Went Astray
there are even worse things than shutdowns
Links 16/06/2025: Climate, Wildfires, Breaches, and Monopolies
Links for the day
Links 16/06/2025: Summer in Finland and Misunderstandings
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, June 15, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, June 15, 2025