[irc/freenode/web-7.0.git] / content / news / post1.md

Title: Recent Events and Future Changes
Date: 2016-02-19
Author: spb
Slug: new-policies

---

One of the several problems that’s become obvious in recent times is that we  have too many policies, they’re often not consistent with each other, and we’ve spent too much time and effort wondering whether something, which is obviously the right thing to do, fits with our published policy. With that in mind, the following stripped-back set of policies will apply in future, with the intention that we can set out a simple set of baselines and apply common sense on top of them.

### Nickname ownership

Nicknames are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis, to the first person
who registers the name with NickServ. However, we expect users to act in good
faith and reserve the right to remove a nickname registration where we believe
that this has not been the case.

**Nickname and account registrations expire ten weeks after they are last used.
For nicknames, ‘used’ means that you were using the nickname while logged in to
the account which owns it. For accounts, ‘used’ means that you logged in to the
account, regardless of the nickname you used to do so. Nicknames which are the
primary account name only expire when the entire account is expired. **

In some cases, such as for very old accounts, we may, at our discretion, extend
the expiry time of a nickname or account. We will not normally do this beyond 15
weeks past the last use.

Some nicknames and accounts, including but not limited to some of those owned by
current or former network staff, do not expire at all. These accounts can be
identified by the ‘Hold’ flag in their NickServ info output.

Nicknames and accounts which are expired will not automatically be dropped.
Please contact network staff if you would like to take over an expired nickname.

### Channel ownership

Channels on freenode fall into one of two categories. Primary channels, which
begin with a single # character, are reserved for on-topic projects. If you’d
like to take over one of these channels, then you’ll need to be associated in
some way with the project in question. Topical, or ‘about’ channels, begin with
two # characters, and these are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis to
the first person who registers it with ChanServ. As with nicknames, however, we
reserve the right to remove or alter registrations where we believe they have
not been made in good faith.

Primary channels do not expire with inactivity, though they can be claimed at
any time by a representative of an on-topic project with the appropriate name.
Topical channels expire after 60 days in which no user on the access list for
the channel has joined it.

### On-topic Use

freenode’s primary goal is to encourage and foster the development and use of
free and open source software projects and other peer-directed communities
producing broadly licensed creative output. Any project falling under this broad
description is likely to be considered on-topic for the purposes of primary
channel naming and other project services which we may provide, but individual
decisions may be made at the discretion of staff.

### Off-topic Use

We expect all users of the network, whether affiliated with a project or not, to
act in good faith and in accordance with both their local laws and those
applicable where freenode operates. Use of freenode and its facilities is a
privilege, not a right, and may be withdrawn where we believe that this has not been the case.
Commit	Line	Data
74a0bb8a SB	1	Title: Recent Events and Future Changes
	2	Date: 2016-02-19
	3	Author: spb
	4	Slug: new-policies
	5
	6	---
	7
	8	One of the several problems that’s become obvious in recent times is that we have too many policies, they’re often not consistent with each other, and we’ve spent too much time and effort wondering whether something, which is obviously the right thing to do, fits with our published policy. With that in mind, the following stripped-back set of policies will apply in future, with the intention that we can set out a simple set of baselines and apply common sense on top of them.
	9
	10	### Nickname ownership
	11
	12	Nicknames are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis, to the first person
	13	who registers the name with NickServ. However, we expect users to act in good
	14	faith and reserve the right to remove a nickname registration where we believe
	15	that this has not been the case.
	16
	17	**Nickname and account registrations expire ten weeks after they are last used.
	18	For nicknames, ‘used’ means that you were using the nickname while logged in to
	19	the account which owns it. For accounts, ‘used’ means that you logged in to the
	20	account, regardless of the nickname you used to do so. Nicknames which are the
	21	primary account name only expire when the entire account is expired. **
	22
	23	In some cases, such as for very old accounts, we may, at our discretion, extend
	24	the expiry time of a nickname or account. We will not normally do this beyond 15
	25	weeks past the last use.
	26
	27	Some nicknames and accounts, including but not limited to some of those owned by
	28	current or former network staff, do not expire at all. These accounts can be
	29	identified by the ‘Hold’ flag in their NickServ info output.
	30
	31	Nicknames and accounts which are expired will not automatically be dropped.
	32	Please contact network staff if you would like to take over an expired nickname.
	33
	34	### Channel ownership
	35
	36	Channels on freenode fall into one of two categories. Primary channels, which
	37	begin with a single # character, are reserved for on-topic projects. If you’d
	38	like to take over one of these channels, then you’ll need to be associated in
	39	some way with the project in question. Topical, or ‘about’ channels, begin with
	40	two # characters, and these are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis to
	41	the first person who registers it with ChanServ. As with nicknames, however, we
	42	reserve the right to remove or alter registrations where we believe they have
	43	not been made in good faith.
	44
	45	Primary channels do not expire with inactivity, though they can be claimed at
	46	any time by a representative of an on-topic project with the appropriate name.
	47	Topical channels expire after 60 days in which no user on the access list for
	48	the channel has joined it.
	49
	50	### On-topic Use
	51
	52	freenode’s primary goal is to encourage and foster the development and use of
	53	free and open source software projects and other peer-directed communities
	54	producing broadly licensed creative output. Any project falling under this broad
	55	description is likely to be considered on-topic for the purposes of primary
	56	channel naming and other project services which we may provide, but individual
	57	decisions may be made at the discretion of staff.
	58
	59	### Off-topic Use
	60
	61	We expect all users of the network, whether affiliated with a project or not, to
	62	act in good faith and in accordance with both their local laws and those
	63	applicable where freenode operates. Use of freenode and its facilities is a
	64	privilege, not a right, and may be withdrawn where we believe that this has not been the case.
65