I think Freenode helped serve as a lesson to rasengan on a few things:
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.
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.