[gdal-dev] Freenode IRC taken over(was Fwd: [SAC] [Hosting] OSUOSL IRC channels moving to irc.libera.chat)

[Even Rouault]

Hi,

See below about Freenode IRC having been taken over (or considered as
such by most Freenode admins), which affects our existing #gdal channel.

What should we do:

- give up with IRC at all, and just use the Slack channel ? Would make
things more simple

- migrate to Libera Chat ?

- something else ?

Even


-------- Message transféré --------
Sujet : [SAC] [Hosting] OSUOSL IRC channels moving to irc.libera.chat
Date : Wed, 19 May 2021 11:40:34 -0700
De : Lance Albertson <***@osuosl.org>
Répondre à : System Administration Committee Discussion/OSGeo
<***@lists.osgeo.org>
Pour : ***@osuosl.org



As many of you might have noticed, there has been some shifting around
with the Freenode IRC network in the past few days [1][2]. This has
resulted in a number of Freenode staff members resigning and starting a
new IRC network.

Considering the future status of Freenode and given the track record of
the folks involved with the new network called Libera Chat [3], we've
decided that we're moving #osuosl (and any other related channels) over
to irc.libera.chat.

We'll keep the Freenode channels alive for a little while longer but
intend to close them down within a month or so. For those interested, we
are considering spinning up a Matrix server at some point to provide a
more rich chat experience but for now we still use IRC for most of our
communication with FOSS projects.

If you have any questions or concerns, please let us know otherwise
we'll see you on Libera Chat in #osuosl!

Thanks-

[1] https://kline.sh <https://kline.sh>
[2] https://lwn.net/Articles/856543/ <https://lwn.net/Articles/856543/>
[3] https://libera.chat/ <https://libera.chat/>

[Mateusz Loskot]

See below about Freenode IRC having been taken over (or considered as such
by most Freenode admins), which affects our existing #gdal channel.
- give up with IRC at all, and just use the Slack channel ? Would make
things more simple
- migrate to Libera Chat ?
- something else ?

BTW, since there are some uses of the Matrix at OSGeo,
this may be of interest
https://matrix.org/blog/2020/12/07/gitter-now-speaks-matrix

FYI, after a few bumps
(I was getting "Sending email failed, sorry! Registration aborted.")
the nick registration now works at libera.chat
So, just in case, for smoother operations,
you may want to register your Freenode's nick
https://libera.chat/guides/registration

Best regards,

[Pirmin Kalberer]

Hi,

Post by Even Rouault
See below about Freenode IRC having been taken over (or considered as
such by most Freenode admins), which affects our existing #gdal channel.
- give up with IRC at all, and just use the Slack channel ? Would make
things more simple
- migrate to Libera Chat ?
- something else ?

Mozilla / Rust made a thorough evaluation of a modern IRC replacement
some time ago and has chosen Matrix.
Their announcement:
https://discourse.mozilla.org/t/synchronous-messaging-at-mozilla-the-decision/50620

Today's most common client is https://app.element.io/ AFAIK, and I'm
quite happy with it.

Regards
Pirmin

[Greg Troxel]

Post by Even Rouault
See below about Freenode IRC having been taken over (or considered as
such by most Freenode admins), which affects our existing #gdal channel.

gdal and everybody else :-(

Post by Even Rouault
- give up with IRC at all, and just use the Slack channel ? Would make
things more simple

Definitely not slack. That is not run by a free software nonprofit and
is not free software. Perhaps more concerningly, it is centralized --
gdal/osgeo can't host their own slack server. And using things like
slack asks users to enter into a contract with a company that isn't a
501(c)3 (US term) or equivalent.

Post by Even Rouault
- migrate to Libera Chat ?

In the short term, freenode->libera is sort of maintaining things as
they are.

Post by Even Rouault
- something else ?

I'm +0.8 on matrix. Taking off 0.2 because the clients seem to be
javascript running on some sort of chromium, but it seems to be all free
software.

[Sandro Santilli]

Hi,
See below about Freenode IRC having been taken over (or considered as such
by most Freenode admins), which affects our existing #gdal channel.
- give up with IRC at all, and just use the Slack channel ? Would make
things more simple
- migrate to Libera Chat ?
- something else ?

In case you missed it, OSGeo is now hosting a Matrix homeserver:
https://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/SAC:MatrixSynapse

Matrix is an open protocol for instant messaging based on HTTP,
supports bridges to different IM systems (including IRC and Slack).

The OSGeo homeserver allows you to authenticate yourself using
your existing OSGeo account.

--strk;

[Mateusz Loskot]

Post by Sandro Santilli

Post by Even Rouault
- something else ?

https://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/SAC:MatrixSynapse
Matrix is an open protocol for instant messaging based on HTTP,
supports bridges to different IM systems (including IRC and Slack).

Those of us who used to use Matrix,
stopped using it,
perhaps deactivated their accounts,
then want to use it again,
perhaps with the same username,
then don't bang your head at the desk in frustration
when the "computer says no!"

Here is response I have received from the Matrix support team
after learning to get in touch with them about the issue [1]

"""
Hi Mateusz
Unfortunately it is impossible to verify the identity of deleted users.
Per the matrix.org Privacy Notice (
https://matrix.org/legal/privacy-notice#2211-account-and-profile-information
):
"Your username is stored indefinitely to avoid account recycling."
To protect the security and privacy of our users we never reactivate
or release deleted usernames.
We recommend you create a new account using a different Matrix ID.
Matrix.org Support
"""

[1] https://github.com/matrix-org/synapse/pull/7908#issuecomment-708338470

Best regards,

[Richard Duivenvoorde]

But... the cool thing is you don't need to register at matrix.org to be able to use other matrix servers.

As Sandro says: your osgeo.org-id should also be a valid (osgeo)-matrix id, at least to communicate with osgeo users, but for what I know also with matrix.org-user accounts.
And just like different email accounts (from different domains/providers) you can have different matrix identities.

Regards,

Richard Duivenvoorde

Ps: also okay to move to libra off course

Post by Mateusz Loskot

Post by Sandro Santilli

Post by Even Rouault
- something else ?

https://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/SAC:MatrixSynapse
Matrix is an open protocol for instant messaging based on HTTP,
supports bridges to different IM systems (including IRC and Slack).

Those of us who used to use Matrix,
stopped using it,
perhaps deactivated their accounts,
then want to use it again,
perhaps with the same username,
then don't bang your head at the desk in frustration
when the "computer says no!"
Here is response I have received from the Matrix support team
after learning to get in touch with them about the issue [1]
"""
Hi Mateusz
Unfortunately it is impossible to verify the identity of deleted users.
Per the matrix.org Privacy Notice (
https://matrix.org/legal/privacy-notice#2211-account-and-profile-information
"Your username is stored indefinitely to avoid account recycling."
To protect the security and privacy of our users we never reactivate
or release deleted usernames.
We recommend you create a new account using a different Matrix ID.
Matrix.org Support
"""
[1] https://github.com/matrix-org/synapse/pull/7908#issuecomment-708338470
Best regards,

[Mateusz Loskot]

But... the cool thing is[...] you can have different matrix identities.

Although I'm aware, my personal preference is to avoid that
feature and chain myself to the matrix.org.

...one's habits one's worst enemy

Best regards,

[Sandro Santilli]

Post by Richard Duivenvoorde
But... the cool thing is you don't need to register at matrix.org to be able to use other matrix servers.
As Sandro says: your osgeo.org-id should also be a valid (osgeo)-matrix id, at least to communicate with osgeo users, but for what I know also with matrix.org-user accounts.
And just like different email accounts (from different domains/providers) you can have different matrix identities.

Confirmed. Matrix is a federated system, like email.
You don't need to stick to a single provider.
You can communicate with any user and any channel no matter
where you log in.

--strk;