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I have been on Freenode for the last 10 to 20 years but I have absolutely no clue what this is all about. Neither this resignation letter nor the last explains

I have been on Freenode for the last 10 to 20 years but I have absolutely no clue what this is all about. Neither this resignation letter nor the last explains it very well other than that the resigning staff apparently wants me to quit Freenode and join their network instead. I see no compelling reason to do so. Understanding whether there is some "substance" to this drama appears completely impossible. [removed snip] Really, if you can't explain why your cause is just to someone like me, who cares a lot of software freedom, you will not reach a majority of Freenode's users either.

RickHull 5y ago
The resignation letter says there was a hostile takeover and bad faith actions by the new owner. Most of the staff has resigned in protest. Thus, the reputation that freenode built is likely not any indication for how it will perform and behave going forward.
- 0xbadcafebee 5y ago
  My understanding of Freenode's reputation is it's always been a giant bag of drama by a select few running the show. Nobody wants to see their dirty laundry, but they persist in showing us.
sillysaurusx 5y ago
I'd edit your comment and remove the snip about downvotes. It's a lame cheat code for upvotes. (I upvoted you regardless.) What I wanted to say was, I tried to join the new server and discovered it was down. So if they can't survive HN front page, I'm not sure it's a good idea to move decades-old communities to it. I'm in the same boat as you. Your best bet is to join #lesswrong and ask them about the implications, I think. They seem to care a lot about this.
baryphonic 5y ago
The key point seems to be that the new owner wants to harvest user data. If I were one of the staff commanded to violate users' expectations, I might also resign in protest. That being said, sifting that out from the messaging they've presented was not easy. Most of it seems like either posturing for negotiation (e.g. the line "I have code running on two planets," which is admittedly a strong statement, albeit less impressive once examined critically) or just dunking on the new owner for the amusement of Twitter followers and maybe a few people on HN. Regardless, most of it seems to be targeting an audience who already agrees with them, and not to inform and persuade those of us who don't know. If leaking IRC logs is the tactic du jour, it'd be much more effective if we had IRC logs where the disgruntled staffers repeatedly questioned the new owner about the substantive actions they have an issue with (e.g. harvesting user data for commercial purposes), and either got him to back down, admit or evade. That would tell a story that can transcend internecine organizational politics and/or tribalism. But, alas, the medium is the message, and so we get Twitter dunking.
coldpie 5y ago
Ditto. Usually with this kind of drama there's some kind of smoking gun, but I'm really having a hard time seeing what's gone wrong here despite reading three or four summaries.
nabakin 5y ago
Have you read these letters? https://fuchsnet.ch/freenode-resign-letter.txt https://fuchsnet.ch/freenode-resign-letter.txt https://gist.github.com/jesopo/45a3e9cdbe517dc55e6058eb43b00ed9 https://gist.github.com/jesopo/45a3e9cdbe517dc55e6058eb43b00...

RickHull 5y ago

The resignation letter says there was a hostile takeover and bad faith actions by the new owner. Most of the staff has resigned in protest. Thus, the reputation that freenode built is likely not any indication for how it will perform and behave going forward.

0xbadcafebee 5y ago
My understanding of Freenode's reputation is it's always been a giant bag of drama by a select few running the show. Nobody wants to see their dirty laundry, but they persist in showing us.

sillysaurusx 5y ago

I'd edit your comment and remove the snip about downvotes. It's a lame cheat code for upvotes. (I upvoted you regardless.) What I wanted to say was, I tried to join the new server and discovered it was down. So if they can't survive HN front page, I'm not sure it's a good idea to move decades-old communities to it. I'm in the same boat as you. Your best bet is to join #lesswrong and ask them about the implications, I think. They seem to care a lot about this.

baryphonic 5y ago

The key point seems to be that the new owner wants to harvest user data. If I were one of the staff commanded to violate users' expectations, I might also resign in protest. That being said, sifting that out from the messaging they've presented was not easy. Most of it seems like either posturing for negotiation (e.g. the line "I have code running on two planets," which is admittedly a strong statement, albeit less impressive once examined critically) or just dunking on the new owner for the amusement of Twitter followers and maybe a few people on HN. Regardless, most of it seems to be targeting an audience who already agrees with them, and not to inform and persuade those of us who don't know. If leaking IRC logs is the tactic du jour, it'd be much more effective if we had IRC logs where the disgruntled staffers repeatedly questioned the new owner about the substantive actions they have an issue with (e.g. harvesting user data for commercial purposes), and either got him to back down, admit or evade. That would tell a story that can transcend internecine organizational politics and/or tribalism. But, alas, the medium is the message, and so we get Twitter dunking.

coldpie 5y ago

Ditto. Usually with this kind of drama there's some kind of smoking gun, but I'm really having a hard time seeing what's gone wrong here despite reading three or four summaries.

nabakin 5y ago

Have you read these letters? https://fuchsnet.ch/freenode-resign-letter.txt https://fuchsnet.ch/freenode-resign-letter.txt https://gist.github.com/jesopo/45a3e9cdbe517dc55e6058eb43b00ed9 https://gist.github.com/jesopo/45a3e9cdbe517dc55e6058eb43b00...