[Sugar-devel] freenode spam measures

[D. Joe]

On Wed, Sep 26, 2018 at 11:45:43AM +1000, James Cameron wrote:
> On Tue, Sep 25, 2018 at 11:50:41AM +0000, D. Joe wrote:
> > 
> > I noticed in the thread about jita you mentioning the problem with
> > supybot.
> 
> > Using the +q approach removes the need for tight coordination
> > between starting a bot, getting it to join the channel, and voicing
> > it: The bot can be started, +q allows it to join the channel as soon
> > as it is ready, then one can come along later and voice it. If I
> > recall correctly, services can also be configured constituitively to
> > voice it.
> > 
> > The ability to voice new users can also be delegated to those that
> > idle in the channel without having to give them full ops.
> > 
> > +r leaves only registration as a way fully to participate in the
> > channel. +q gives users that option plus the additional option of
> > being voiced.
> > 
> > I believe IRC has the tools available to keep it useful and relevant
> > in the face of persistent trollspam attacks, if only we use them.
> 
> Yes.  However, I don't have the time to do all this myself.  

This is exactly why I'm pointing out this way of using IRC: It provides a more flexible way of accomodating both newcomers and bots, and in a way that can be delegated.

Sorry if I wasn't able to make that more clear, earlier.

The IRC changes could be made by anyone with ops privileges in the channel. 

Subsequently, any of us without ops, but who tend to idle, could be given the ability to voice nicks.

We could then watch the channel for newcomers (vetted, perhaps, by their having been vouched for by an established participant). This might help, especially, with getting people over the hurtle of registering. We could also help people trying to deploy, re-deploy, develop, and test bots--the vagaries of getting the bot to register can be separated from the vagaries of getting it to do all other things by having it temporarily voiced.


> An
> alternative is to register the robot, but that may require code
> changes.  During the meeting, it was said that supybot is written in
> Perl; in case anybody is interested.  Source is on git.sugarlabs.org,
> which is also hosted on jita.
> 
> > Without taking full advantage of these options I'm afraid the push
> > towards more centralized, proprietary chat mechanisms or even just
> > to free software options, but ones that are more idiosyncratically
> > siloed, will only accelerate.
> 
> Yes.  We're already seeing that with several developers using GitHub,
> Skype, Slack, Facebook, or other methods.
> 
> The meeting robot did help those who had siloed in the time domain.
> 
> > The current wave of trollspam attacks has been going on for months
> > now. I expect it will not abate for a usefully long enough period of
> > time to remove the restrictions in place, and that even if it does,
> > it will recur more frequently and for longer periods.