Bonum Certa Men Certa

An Explanation of IRC.Techrights.org (Our Self-Hosted IRC Network)

IRC networks
Ariadne Conill has set up a network where we can better focus on the Web site while putting aside lesser savoury aspects of IRC -- aspects that include spam and abuse (inevitable when dealing with protocols like IRC that aren't restricted)



Summary: We've added to the pool of IRC servers out there; there's hope that IRC can be expanded in terms of adoption and use, with pertinent communities and sites taking control of their communications instead of relying on third parties

Techrights.org is turning 15 in a few months (TuxMachines.org turns 17 in 3 days) and it has presence in IRC. There are 4 channels since more than a decade ago. TuxMachines also has a channel, but without a corresponding one in Techrights.org, only in Freenode.net (where we've been for over 13 years).



"There are further benefits such as uptime if we can keep two IRC networks in conjunction (so Techrights.org works fine when Freenode.net has spam/downtime issues, and vice versa)."Why are we doing this?

Simple. Last year we decided it would be useful to self-host the channels; for that, it helps to have our own IRC network and daemon. There are further benefits such as uptime if we can keep two IRC networks in conjunction (so Techrights.org works fine when Freenode.net has spam/downtime issues, and vice versa). In the "clown computing" universe they call it multiclown.

Several people are currently present in both IRC networks. At this very moment, for instance, #techrights at Freenode.net has 84 online users, whereas #techrights at Techrights.org has 17 online users. There's a bridge (hosted by a VPS) connecting the two and logging can be deduplicated. We recently heard that the FSF might consider implementing something similar. It's beneficial not just because it enhances self-governance* but also because it acts as a sort of gateway to people outside the local network (through Freenode.net one can reach about 60,000 users and user retention improved in the past week, as shown below). As a side note, Freenode.net launched a BBS service. Now we're talking business! Or nostalgia...

Just to be very, very clear: Techrights does not endorse everything that gets spewed into IRC channels; it never did! By the very nature of IRC messaging and logging, there's no moderation (even all the spam makes it through!). Yesterday there were day-long spam attacks on Freenode.net and on the Open and Free Technology Community. IRC.Techrights.org was not affected. Sometimes being small means being not much of a target for attacks.

Freenode.net users online
Freenode.net is barely losing users anymore



____ * Today in the news we see what happens to Nigeria's government after outsourcing its communications to a for-profit American company [1, 2, 3], in effect losing control of its very own voice. Nigeria, with about 211,400,708 citizens, has therefore blocked Twitter, nationwide.



Recent Techrights' Posts

Mass Layoffs at IBM Today, Just Like Prominent Rumours Said Upfront
past couple of hours
IBM is Acting No Better Than Patent Trolls, Preying on Smaller Companies by Suing Them With Software Patents
No Red Hat employee should tolerate this aggression by the employer
Something Has Gone Very Wrong at iTWire
"iTWire has descended into marketing spam"
 
IBM Befriends and Exploits the Biggest Enemy of Software Freedom (Software Patents)
Software Patents and IBM in Today's News
Many Workers Quietly Leave Microsoft, the Company is Running Out of Money (Too Much Debt and Now Massive Buybacks to Keep the Shares From Collapsing While Hiding Humongous Losses)
I've heard of people who just decided to quit Microsoft. They could not handle the anxiety.
Links 17/09/2024: Volkswagen Layoffs May Exceed 15,000, Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Arrested
Links for the day
Gemini Links 17/09/2024: Re-framing of Priorities and Journalists
Links for the day
The Linux Foundation is Associating Linux With Scams and With Scam Sites Right Now (Like the Wife of Jim Zemlin Did)
they profit from the sellouts
Google's YouTube Already Blocking People Who Block Ads
YouTube feels like it's dying
Links 17/09/2024: More on Microsoft Cuts and XBox Backward Compatibility Issues
Links for the day
The Hallmark of a Dying Company Running Low on Money (But Still Trying to Hide That)
Microsoft should look into selling red markers
UEFI 'Secure' Boot Has Put Security at Risk, Suggests New Report
We're vindicated once again
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, September 16, 2024
IRC logs for Monday, September 16, 2024
Links 17/09/2024: China Sanctions and Breadth of Latest Microsoft Layoffs Elaborated Upon
Links for the day
Gemini Links 17/09/2024: Small Improvements in Carbon Capture and Pseudo-Productivity In Java
Links for the day
'Open'AI Looks Like a Company Headed Towards Bankruptcy, Not IPO, Losses Grew Almost Tenfold in a Year (Yes, it's Just a Bubble Facilitated by Artificial Hype)
This isn't going to end well, especially not for Microsoft
Apple is Canceling Products, Services, Even Lays Off Staff in Large Numbers Every Few Months
Apple cancelling some more things
Later on Elon Musk Wonders Why Large Nations Block His Pet 'Social Control Media' (Incitement/Radicalisation) Platform...
This isn't a question of "censorship" because there's a call to kill
Microsoft: Layoffs Are Growth
Orwell would have loved this newspeak
Links 16/09/2024: Verizon Layoffs, 'Tram Driver Olympics', and Anniversary of Mahsa Amini's Death
Links for the day
Gemini Links 16/09/2024: ROOPHLOCH and MyGemini.Space
Links for the day
Invidious Instances Explain What Google/YouTube (Alphabet/Pentagon) Did To Them This Past Week
They're unambiguous about this
Dr. Richard M. Stallman (RMS) on How to Make People Care About Free Software and Why Prohibiting Proprietary Software Would Not Work
"maybe a similar general approach could work with non-Free software as a way of discouraging it from being a successful business."
Please Quit Uploading Event Talks (Especially of Free Software) to YouTube
This is enshittification
Links 16/09/2024: Shrinking Economy, Climate Issues, Soaring Energy Costs
Links for the day
'Former' Microsofter Jason Perlow Left Linux Foundation
The "communication" people from the Linux Foundation are basically scammers
MyGem Launched to Make Adoption of Gemini Protocol (With Gemini Hosting) a Lot Easier
a new week and also a new capsule
Disregard for History is Disregard for (Computer) Science
They're killing the real entrepreneurs and innovators
Dr. Richard M. Stallman (RMS) on His Hobbies and Health
Answering a question from the audience in Germany
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, September 15, 2024
IRC logs for Sunday, September 15, 2024
Gemini Links 16/09/2024: billsmugs.com Becomes rainywhile.net, Zaurus on Internet
Links for the day
[Meme] Wrong Priorities at Universities
Because what matters isn't expertise
Science and Academia Under Attack, Imposters Inheriting or Aggressively Seizing the Top Roles
Academia has turned into a bad place
Microsoft and the Sunk Cost Fallacy
"Microsoft aims for the sunk cost fallacy"
Turning Away Unwanted and/or Predatory Bots
If no human will ever read it, what's the point serving?
Links 15/09/2024: Complicated Music Licensing Schemes and Dangers of Sleep Deprivation
Links for the day
Links 15/09/2024: Sci-fi London 2024 and Outsourcing to Proton Mail
Links for the day
Links 15/09/2024: French Teachers Quit in Droves, Why 'eSports' are Not Sports
Links for the day
[Meme] Red Hat Staff Must Learn IBM's Dark History (IBM Still Boosts Donald Trump, So No Lessons Learned)
This isn't a subject for humour
Don't Fall for Reputation Laundering and Whitewashing
Remember history, don't pay attention to PR and charm offensives
[Meme] Microsoft as a Joke That Writes Itself
"Microsoft confesses its recent security updates…broke Windows 10 security patches"
GNU Turns 41 in Just 12 Days
Can truth and science be resuscitated, please?
[Meme] Large Language Models (LLMs) Destroy the Web With an Ocean of Disinformation and Misinformation, Falsely Promoted as "Intelligence" by Microsoft et al
"Microsoft bribes the media to say 'Microsoft loves Linux'"
Dr. Richard M. Stallman (RMS) Asks People to Stop Calling Large Language Models (LLMs) "Artificial Intelligence" (AI)
"I think that the first step is stop calling them AI"
Even Microsoft Boosters Think XBox is Doomed
"Reports Say Morale At Xbox Is “Very Low”"... a Microsoft booster cited by them
Dr. Richard M. Stallman (RMS): "There are still people who make it their business to try to stop me from getting invited to speak, and it's a slow process working back from that"
From the talk he gave last month
Very Few Invidious Instances Still Work (for Video Playback)
Google has sabotaged Invidious
Sites Writing Fake News About Linux Using LLMs (Microsoft Hype That Promotes Misinformation)
RMS recently called these "bullshit machines"
Gemini Links 15/09/2024: MINIbase and Pocket Reform Experience
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, September 14, 2024
IRC logs for Saturday, September 14, 2024