Props on the smooth switchover. It could have hardly gone any better as far as I can see.
all he had to do was change the top level administration and keep quiet for a few months, at which point he could have implemented his changes slowly
Switching from Twitter to Mastodon means abandoning the (pretty terrible but familiar) software and an entire mode of interaction. Mastodon is much more about interacting with your peers than celebrities.
If anything this shows how superior IRC because of its flexibility.
You can just host it somewhere else if things go sour.
Sincerely,
Gaurav Giri
Ex-CIO Private Internet Access Inc. (5.5 years)
PS: War is expensive, his costs are mounting.
To me it looks like he had some issues with the people behind FreeNode and decided to take it over simply to destroy it (and/or change it into the right-wing gaslighting pro-trump "community" that it is now). If you look at it this way, it all makes sense: It's all just a personal vendetta project for him
1. Technical prowess doesn't supersede the value of interpersonal/social abilities
2. Money doesn't let you control the narrative in a free system
3. Elon Musk isn't Elon Musk because he's rich, he's Elon Musk because he's good at marketing
4. Reputation is everything
It's a shame that the cost of these lessons was the destruction of Freenode and further fragmentation of IRC, and hopefully the recovery continues. It was great to see everyone united for a brief moment though, regardless of your views against Freenode or any particular channel it was widely accepted that it was a horrible move and everyone resisted the hostile takeover.