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

Speaking Truth to Power (More Effectively)
Behind every 'tech' giant there's some dark secret and they already seek to demonise/discredit critics/exposers
 
[Meme] EPO Suckers
The EPO's president refers to himself as "the f**king president" (maybe he knows why)
Central Staff Committee on EPO Bribing Its Critics, Using a "Sharp and Abrupt Reduction, Estimated at 80% to 90%, in the Number of Refusals and Summons for Oral Proceedings in Areas Related to Software Patents"
silence would be a form of enhanced complicity, in effect endorsing both bribes and violation of the EPC
Links 20/09/2024: Qualcomm Layoffs, Interest Rates Fall
Links for the day
Gemini Links 20/09/2024: 3K Run and Lagrange 1.18
Links for the day
Spam of the Day (Yes, Brittany Day Again)
They leverage LLMs for SEO purposes
Links 20/09/2024: Chinese Botnet Dismantled, More EU Shake-ups
Links for the day
Links 20/09/2024: European Commission on Microsoft Competition Abuses, More Revelations About Mass Layoffs at IBM and Microsoft
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, September 19, 2024
IRC logs for Thursday, September 19, 2024
Links 19/09/2024: UPC Illegal 'Court' and Microsoft LinkedIn Called Out for Data Misuse
Links for the day
Gemini Links 19/09/2024: Invidious Problems and Install Times
Links for the day
Links 19/09/2024: Scam ‘Funeral Streaming’ and More Microsoft TCO Tales
Links for the day
In Sweden, GNU/Linux Almost 20% of the Laptop/Desktop Market, Firefox Falls to 2%
In the US, once a browser falls below 2%, many critical sites can legally ignore it (or its users' needs) altogether
When Microsoft Pays a Lot of Money to Reddit, 'Linux' Foundation, and Countless Other Entities
As does Google
A CoC Will Destroy Your Free Software Community and Help Imposers of CoC (Like Microsoft)
Abusers like to disguise censorship (of their abuse) as "manners" or good "conduct"
IBM Likely Breaking Several Laws With Latest 'Secret' Mass Layoffs
Never sign an NDA
Gemini Links 19/09/2024: Emacs Wiki and China, IRC Chatting
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, September 18, 2024
IRC logs for Wednesday, September 18, 2024
Links 18/09/2024: Web Server Survey Shows Microsoft Down Again, Omkhar Arasaratnam Leaves Microsoft-connected OpenSSF
Links for the day
Links 18/09/2024: Gaming Layoffs and New Openwashing by Linux Foundation
Links for the day
Gemini Links 18/09/2024: Home, Ashram, and Markdoc
Links for the day
Morale at Microsoft Sinking, More Layoffs Expected, Stock Buybacks Blasted
controversial because they should really be illegal
[Meme] Think. Positive. Saturate the Media.
IBM: Layoffs? What layoffs?
The Kubecost Acquisition Does Not Show IBM is Rich, It Shows It Wants to Distract From Mass Layoffs Happening This Week (Thousands Laid Off in the Dark)
So-called "news deserts" have become a national and international phenomenon (not local/regional)
IBM Has Been Lobbying for Software Patents, It's Not the Free Software Community's Ally
The ancient company has been lobbying for these patents for decades already
Over Half a Day Later the Media Still Doesn't Cover Thousands of Layoffs at IBM
Not even a single news site bothered to investigate and report this? Not even one?
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, September 17, 2024
IRC logs for Tuesday, September 17, 2024