My reaction to this is "Oh, I guess the freenode guy really is the bad guy in this drama after all." I'd chalked up all the drama as ego + misunderstanding, but this makes it easier to take sides!<p>So, thanks freenode guy for simplifying my life a little bit!
Summary: Essentially this is an attempt of freenode.net to redirect people who type in libera.net instead of libera.chat. Libera.chat is a fork of freenode.net that formed in response to a controversial change in leadership in May 2021.
This comes at a surprise to... nobody. The entire libera staff have been warning about this dude since the first resignation, probably even before.<p>He's shady as hell.
I've been following this for a few months now and I still, after all the time, cannot discern a financial motive. Is all of this really just schoolyard ego stuff? There was no substantial monetary value in Freenode, right? And if there was, there certainly isn't now? I mean, it looks like the group that took it over just set it on fire?
In order to understand the ecosystem, I ask myself this question : why did 4chan personally harass Audacity leader, but did nothing about the behavior of freechat leader?
Libera.net was registered in 2000.<p>This whole issue can be easily resolved if anyone has a domaintools account and check the history of the libera.net domain.<p><a href="https://whois.domaintools.com/libera.net" rel="nofollow">https://whois.domaintools.com/libera.net</a>
An ICANN trademark dispute might seize the domain registration, but first... Libera's principals should consult an attorney. Maybe approach the EFF, or ask a law school free legal clinic.<p>If the attorneys say they can't help within budget, then a Libera principal can contact their state AG's office. If the AG's office can't help directly, they might know which business regulatory authority to ask.<p>(I should note: The `whois` info doesn't indicate whether this is the doing of Freenode officials, or of some other party. So keep the pitchforks in storage, and don't let facts get clouded.)