diff --git a/blog/epilogue-2021-05-26.markdown b/blog/epilogue-2021-05-26.markdown index d2807ad..baa3e97 100644 --- a/blog/epilogue-2021-05-26.markdown +++ b/blog/epilogue-2021-05-26.markdown @@ -2,8 +2,8 @@ title: Epilogue date: 2021-05-26 tags: - - freenode - irc +series: freenode --- # Epilogue diff --git a/blog/final-chapter-2021-05-20.markdown b/blog/final-chapter-2021-05-20.markdown index 2146460..32f7a30 100644 --- a/blog/final-chapter-2021-05-20.markdown +++ b/blog/final-chapter-2021-05-20.markdown @@ -2,8 +2,8 @@ title: Final Chapter date: 2021-05-20 tags: - - freenode - irc +series: freenode --- # Final Chapter diff --git a/blog/footnote-2021-06-15.markdown b/blog/footnote-2021-06-15.markdown new file mode 100644 index 0000000..dee112c --- /dev/null +++ b/blog/footnote-2021-06-15.markdown @@ -0,0 +1,144 @@ +--- +title: Footnote +date: 2021-06-15 +tags: + - irc +series: freenode +--- + +# Footnote + +- [Final Chapter](/blog/final-chapter-2021-05-20) +- [Epilogue](/blog/epilogue-2021-05-26) + +--- + +Before the darkness was the darkness, the darkness was a child. This child found +themselves lost and without purpose. Life was scary. Things were changing +constantly, and they found themselves at a loss. One day they were walking about +the etherial network and stumbled across a meeting house. + +The child looked inside and was confused. There were hundereds of rooms with +even more people inside. There were rooms on every topic. There was a shower of +culture and an outpouring of knowledge. Hanging out here would permanently +change the course of the child's life. + +--- + +Horrified by the room takeover golem, the remaining regulars had fled their +former homes. This was not a home for legal reasons, but it was their social +home on the etherial network. Sadness had turned to rage had turned to +depression had turned to laughter. One of the former regulars was a apprentice +scryer, so as a lark they decided to set up some meeting rooms to scry their way +into rooms in the old meeting house. It was a one-way scry and all they could do +was watch. + +--- + +Historically, IRC spam has been a unique form of art. Yes, I'm serious. There +have been legitimate works of art created in the desire to disrupt conversations +on IRC. It sounds absurd, but it's true. One unique quality of these artworks is +that in order to see them, they must be shared with others. At some level you +can't view this art alone, and that makes it beautiful. + +Fighting IRC spam has turned into a full time job. There are hundreds of +different bot kinds and so many different ways to spam that fighting it is +difficult due to the server software being very simple. Historically IRC +developers have not wanted to add hooks so that people could run a bit of code +on each message as it was being processed. There were legitimate fears that +doing this would allow a malicious server admin to log every channel, not just +the ones they have joined. IRC was created at a time where all of the admins +knew eachother; but they were part of different organizations, each with their +own rules and subtly different codes of conduct. + +One of the best ways to fight IRC spam has been to wait until the spammer gets +bored and goes off to do something else. Users are not as understanding to this +method. + +--- + +Someone had set up a golem-creating golem and aimed it at the meta-discussion +room of the former meeting house. It did its job dutifully and continued +marching on: + +> (pissnet) come to pissnet for cold wet chats! + +The people watching the scry had never seen this brand of disruption before. By +now the people watching had amassed to over a hundred and they were all bored +and eager for something new. Something new was here! + +> (pissnet) come to pissnet for cold hard piss! + +Over time, the shadowy group behind these golems became known as the urinators. +These urinators became a bit of a hero to the people who watched in horror as +the situation developed. The golems got discovered and ejected, and even earned +the ire of the anti-golem golem. The disguise was clever, the ejections where +swift, but the watchers laughed as the golems kept getting more and more +creative. + +--- + +The darkness was dismayed. Everything was falling apart around them. The +maintainers of the maintenance golems had fled. The spellcrafters that empowered +them [had sworn to give no more +assistance](https://atheme.github.io/atheme-open-letter/). The halls themselves +were starting to show the rot that had built up over the last 20 years of them +existing. + +The darkness pondered amongst themselves until they pulled back a memory from +the past. A memory from the child. The halls themselves had to be replaced! + +--- + +The watchers looked on in horror. The scryer had given up hope and decided to +move on with their life. The urinators had suceeded in shutting down the things +that were fun to the watchers. The urinators won. + +Some urinators created their own halls. It was an experiment in anarchy for +running these types of halls. It is astounding that it managed to stay as stable +as it did. + +--- + +I have been completely unsure how I should broach the topic of pissnet in these +articles. For people unfamiliar with IRC culture, you must think I'm making shit +up or something. It is _so_ out there that it's almost like an abstact art +gallery or something. But no, pissnet happened. It started as IRC spam and then +turned into this: [letspiss.net](http://letspiss.net/). I don't really think I +can suggest readers of this blog go there. It is some kind of weird anarchist +IRC hackerspace, but most of the users are ircops and can see your IP address. + +Like, for people that are really deep into IRC culture, the whole pissnet +shitshow was so out there that they thought the people that were telling them +about that were making that shit up. + +But it's real. + +--- + +> We are moving past legacy freenode to a new fork. The new freenode is +> launched. You will slowly be disconnected and when you reconnect, you will be +> on the new freenode. We patiently await to welcome you in freedom's holdout - +> the freenode. If you're looking to connect now, you can already /server +> chat.freenode.net 6697 (ssl) or 6667 (plaintext). It's a new genesis for a new +> era. Thank you for using freenode, and Hello World, from the future. freenode +> is IRC. freenode is FOSS. When you connect, register your nickname and your +> channel and get started. It's a new world. We're so happy to welcome you and +> the millions of others. + +The darkness smiled and replaced the halls where they were. The darkness hoped +that millions would follow. + +They didn't come. + +--- + +- [Freenode commits suicide, is no longer a serious IRC + network](https://www.devever.net/~hl/freenode_suicide) +- [the end of freenode](https://ariadne.space/2021/06/14/the-end-of-freenode/) +- [All Freenode Channels and Users + Gone](https://old.reddit.com/r/linux/comments/o0263h/all_freenode_channels_and_users_gone/) +- [Last remaining >1000 user community channel seized by freenode + staff](https://linux.chat/linux-on-freenode/) + +Freenode is dead. The spirit lives on in [Libera.chat](https://libera.chat/).