Freenode developers are abandoning the project after Andrew Lee, the Crown Prince of Korea, unilaterally took control of the network. Developers familiar with the project call it a "hostile takeover," with many considering the substantial ramifications this move will have on the open-source community.
Freenode Developers Abandon Ship After Hostile Takeover
Freenode is best known for running IRC (Internet Relay Chat), the once vast chat network that remains integral to many open-source developers and projects.
The entire Freenode project was sold to Andrew Lee back in 2017.
At the time, Lee agreed to keep running Freenode as it was, without making any changes to the network. Through public and private statements made at the time of the sale, the development team and staff were led to believe that Lee couldn't make wholesale changes to Freenode.
However, in May 2021, around 20 or 30 Freenode staff and developers quit the project en masse as a protest at Lee's management. Many former staffers wrote detailed explanations as to how Freenode is no longer operating in the true spirit of the project.
Most of the anger is directed towards the sudden legal enforcement of Andrew Lee's control over the Freenode network, tying back to the first point of issue. The former head of Freenode, Christel Dahlskjaer, hid the terms of the sale from developers and staff, leading them to believe the sale was solely for funding and nothing else.
In short, the former development team and other staffers believe Dahlskjaer sold something that was never hers to sell. Rather than generating funding, Dahlskjaer handed the entire network over to Andrew Lee, who now controls all user data on the network.
Furthermore, according to legal sources sought out by the former Freenode development team, there is almost zero chance of recourse through legal channels.
Major Projects Leave Freenode for Libera.Chat
Right now, the heat is on Andrew Lee and Freenode. More than 20 developers and staffers leaving simultaneously isn't just a bad look—they're taking the brains of the network with them.
Furthermore, there are reports that other projects are already abandoning Freenode in the wake of the news. Major Linux distros, including CentOS, cURL, and Ubuntu, are dropping from Freenode, as are Vim and RepRap. More will undoubtedly follow in the coming days.
Wondering where these open-source projects are migrating?
The former-Freenode development team has already started a new project, Libera.Chat, which is up and running and accepting new communities and users. Although Libera was only founded on May 19, 2021, it is already home to several thousand users and as the heat turns up on Freenode, expect more to make the switch.