From d1d18e89e3d8403ea34565eb0aef565230adda2f Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Christine Dodrill Date: Wed, 26 May 2021 07:55:18 -0400 Subject: [PATCH] Epilogue Signed-off-by: Christine Dodrill --- blog/epilogue-2021-05-26.markdown | 212 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 212 insertions(+) create mode 100644 blog/epilogue-2021-05-26.markdown diff --git a/blog/epilogue-2021-05-26.markdown b/blog/epilogue-2021-05-26.markdown new file mode 100644 index 0000000..0ffc245 --- /dev/null +++ b/blog/epilogue-2021-05-26.markdown @@ -0,0 +1,212 @@ +--- +name: Epilogue +date: 2021-05-26 +tags: + - freenode + - irc +--- + +# Epilogue + +The last caretaker's absence rippled throughout the halls. The darkness was all +that remained. + +--- + +I used to run an IRC network named PonyChat. It was an IRC network aimed at +adult fans of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. Looking back, working on that +network was probably the biggest catalyst to my learning how to do system +administration to the level I am at today. + +Lots of stuff goes wrong when you run an IRC network. PonyChat peaked at around +500 users on average, but that didn't stop things from being interesting. There +were several "groups" of people there, and a lot of roleplaying channels. As +things like Discord picked up more and more users, a lot of the roleplaying +channels were all that were left at the end. There were some people in the #geek +room that were near permanent fixtures. Talking with those people and +collaborating on various projects is how I learned the skills that I use daily +for remote work. + +--- + +The darkness was confused. It didn't expect this to happen. The discussion halls +were so full of life before! There were so many people from as many backgrounds +talking about anything you could imagine! + +But the people left. The darkness didn't totally see why this happened, but then +they walked the halls and saw some things around the empty rooms. + +``` +The official Arch Linux support channels have moved to libera.chat, good luck! +``` + +The previous moderators of the discussion forum had apparently left up signs +telling anyone who hadn't walked over with them to tell them where to go. The +darkness looked around and saw more and more of those signs. + +_Without those signs, they won't know where to go! If we can remove all of those +signs then maybe the people will be active again!_ + +> This channel has moved to ##archlinux. The topic is in violation of freenode +> policy. + +_Perfect_, the darkness thought to themselves. _They can't leave now, those +signs were telling them where to go!_ + +--- + +When things came to an end with PonyChat, I had a big choice to make. There's +two main ways for chat communities to die: fast and slow. The fast ways are +quicker, less painful for users and potentially harsh for people that didn't get +the memo in time. The slow way gets expensive and soul-draining. + +I was the last caretaker left on PonyChat after the attrition rate affected the +staff as well as the users. I was the only person really active on the network +and a lot of it was held together with increasingly brittle lua scripts. + +It was soul-crushing. PonyChat was close to my heart. Writing the bots that +ended up being the core of the anti-spam engine were some of my first coding +projects. + +--- + +The darkness was disturbed from their laurels by one of their caretakers. +Apparently this angered the people who had left. The former community scribes +were furious. The last caretakers had never done such a thing. Notices to those +communities were always left intact. The mere _thought_ of doing such a thing +was _unthinkable_. + +Yet it happened. The darkness realized that they messed up. Quickly, a change +was made. _It can't be against policy if there's a policy allowing it! +Historical precedent be damned, this is advertisement! They are promoting +another place instead of here! Here is perfectly good!_ They thought. + +The darkness smiled its spiral smile and spread to take down more signs with a +golem purpose made to print off new signs. + +> This channel has moved to ##botters. The topic is in violation of freenode +> policy. + +The golem blindly continued manufacturing out new signs. The silent masses left +behind watched in horror as they were forced out of their former haunts. + +--- + +There's something kind of magical about writing an IRC chatbot. It's one of the +few kinds of things you can create that you create in public. Even if the source +code isn't shared you still need to test it somewhere. You build it in public. + +Anti-spam bots are a similar kind of thing. Unfortunately they form a kind of +arms race. It's much easier to make new spam than it is to come up with patterns +for existing spam. Writing one is soul-crushing. You have to quickly develop a +kind of reputation system or you will immediately turn it into a way to ban your +own users. A lot of the more clever trolls tricked users into typing the phrases +that got them banned. + +Then there was the doxxing and swatting. + +--- + +The darkness walked through the halls and smiled. All those signs were gone. +They peered into a room to see what was happening. They saw nothing. There +weren't even the silent masses that had normally huddled around the backs of +rooms. Some of those people had sat there for years doing nothing but listening. +Nobody really knew if they were actually paying attention or not, some may not +even be alive anymore, but they were haunting those rooms either way. + +The signs pointed people elsewhere. Those who had stayed in the background +didn't get the memo. They were stuck there. Just sitting there and watching. Not +really doing anything, just watching and listening. + +--- + +If you run an IRC network of any appreciable scale, be prepared for these +eventualities: + +Your real name, email address, facebook account link, twitter account link, +phone number, parents names, mailing address, physical address and sometimes +even tax identification numbers will be leaked to the public. You **MUST** use +a password manager and two-factor auth everywhere. Register your domains under a +past or fake address. That will prevent people from getting your mailing address +as easily. + +I've been doxxed so many times that I have given up trying to keep my things +separate. A lot of the places you see me using different names started out as my +attempts to use separate handles in different places. I have kept them the same +for consistency but I have largely given up trying to keep them separate. It is +a lot of work and I bet that even if I went back on the hyper private sthick (if +I even can at this point, I've been frontpaged on Orange Site and my blog gets +so much traffic that it's probably impossible in practice without abandoning my +handles and picking new ones). + +Your staff will lose interest and abandon the project one day without telling +you. They may end up still being connected there, but just as an idle bouncer. +It's akin to a zombie laying in the background. + +Call your local police non-emergency number and set up a standing order to call +you before they send in a SWAT team to your house. There are people that will +seriously call the cops and claim you're armed and dangerous to get a SWAT team +to ruin your life or potentially get you killed. This is not a joke. It's nearly +happened to me thrice. I got that call from the cops once. It is not a good +feeling. + +You need to use something with a powerful and easy to use spambot or message +filtering built into the server itself. This will save your ass some day. + +--- + +The former moderators of the rooms that were closed off came back with +pitchforks and torches. They were **pissed**. The rooms they had tended to for +years were suddenly stolen from them. Yes, they were abandoned, but the +precedent for doing such a thing had never really existed before. It was such a +tiny thing, but they had to go out of their way to make that golem. They had to +tell the golem what to do. They had to send out that golem. + +Several groups were on the fence with regards of what to do, but that golem made +the choice for them. Some groups even wanted _to stay at the same meeting house_ +but the golem came in and closed their hall without warning. + +--- + +The day I killed PonyChat was a hard day for me. I had planned it 3 months ago. +Warnings were issued. I helped bigger communities move elsewhere. Everything was +spinning down. + +Then the time came and I ran the script that only needed to be run once: + +``` +$ ./scripts/kill_ponychat.sh +``` + +A progress bar appeared and with it all of what was created over the last decade +was destroyed. Backups were erased. Data was wiped. Servers were destroyed. DNS +records were altered. And finally it printed this: + +``` +It's okay to cry. +``` + +And that was the end of it. + +--- + +If the halls were empty before, they were desolate now. Everything was being +abandoned in real time. Announcements were made about how the golem was +premature and that people should really consider staying. It was no use. The +golem had made up their minds. + +The rot started. + +--- + +Author's Note: I really hope this is the last entry in this little speculative +fiction/postmortem/retrospective series. I have an article in the pipeline on +how I'm creating virtual machines from templates so that I can test how various +versions of various distros work, but this freenode bullshit has eaten up a lot +of my thinking time. It's been like watching a train wreck. You can't look at +it, but you can't look away either. It's so hard to watch yet you just can't +help but watch it. + +It hurts. + +This was not on my bingo card for 2021.