A FreeNode IRC network support team, popular among open-source software developers, has ceased its operations and established a new IRC network, libera.chat, intended to take the place of FreeNode. It has been noted that the old network, which used the domains freenode.[org|net|com], has come under the control of questionable individuals, raising concerns about trust. Projects such as CentOS and Sourcehut have already announced their migration to libera.chat, while KDE developers are also discussing the transition.
In 2017, the FreeNode Ltd holding was sold to Private Internet Access (PIA), along with some other assets. The terms of the deal were not disclosed to the FreeNode team. domainnevek The actual owner of the FreeNode domains became Andrew Lee. All szerverek infrastructure elements remained in the hands of volunteers and sponsors providing server resources for the network's operations. The network was maintained and managed by a team of volunteers. Andrew Lee’s company only owned the domains and did not interact with the IRC network itself.
Initially, Andrew Lee reassured the FreeNode team that his company would not interfere with the network's operations, but a few weeks ago, the situation changed, and modifications began occurring within the network, regarding which the FreeNode team received no clarifications. For instance, a page announcing an optimization of the management structure was deleted, advertising for Shells, a company co-founded by Andrew Lee, was posted, and efforts to gain operational control over the infrastructure and the entire network, including user data, commenced.
According to the volunteer team, Andrew Lee believed that owning the domains gave him the right to fully control the Freenode network and its community, hired separate staff, and attempted to secure the rights to administer the network. The activity aimed at transferring infrastructure management to a commercial company posed a threat to user data falling into the hands of third parties of whom the old FreeNode team had no knowledge. To maintain the project’s independence, a new IRC network, Libera.Chat, has been organized, overseen by a non-profit organization in Sweden, and not allowing control to shift into the hands of commercial entities.
Andrew Lee nem ért egyet ezzel az események értelmezésével, és rámutat, hogy a problémák akkor kezdődtek, amikor Christel, a projekt korábbi vezetője, közzétette a Shells nevű cég említését a honlapon, amely havi 3000 dolláros finanszírozást nyújtott a hálózat fenntartásához. Ezt követően Christel zaklatás áldozatává vált, és lemondott a vezetői posztjáról, helyét Tomaw vette át, aki átmeneti folyamat és a hatáskörök átadása nélkül blokkolta Christel hozzáférését az infrastruktúrához. Andrew Lee javasolta a vezetés reformját, és a hálózat decentralizáltabbá tételét, hogy megszüntesse a függést egyes személyektől, de a tárgyalások során egyetértett abban, hogy a teljeskörű megbeszélés előtt nem szükséges megváltoztatni a vezetést és a projekt fejlődési irányát. A további viták helyett Tomo elkezdte saját hátsó játszmáit, és megváltoztatta a weboldalt, amit követően a konfliktus fokozódott, és Andrew Lee ügyvédeket vont be.
Forrás: opennet.ru
