+---
author: christel
date: 2004-01-27 15:36:27+00:00
slug: happy-birthday-freenode
title: Happy Birthday freenode!
+imported: yes
---
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It's **freenode**'s birthday party. Please come celebrate with us.
+
In early August, 1994, a small IRC support channel called #linuxneo, on the EFNet IRC network, began to see activity. The channel grew, and in a few days its name was changed to #linpeople. The channel eventually moved to Undernet, then DALnet, and in late 1995 it became its own IRC network, irc.linpeople.org. By early 1998, its focus began to broaden, from GNU/Linux to free software in general, and it became irc.openprojects.net. In August, 2002, the network changed its name to irc.freenode.net as it became the first project of a new nonprofit [(not-for-profit) --Ed.] entity, [Peer-Directed Projects Center](http://freenode.net/pdpc.shtml).
+
Today, **freenode** peaks at over 15,000 users, and we're home to coordination channels for such projects as Debian GNU/Linux, fedora, Gentoo, KDE and subversion. We're the official IRC network of the Free Software Foundation's GNU project; we provide support channels for FreeBSD, GNU/Linux and a variety of free software applications. But the real conceptual moment when the network was born was early in 1994, on 29 January at 01:49 UTC, when I first joined the channel #linuxneo.
+
So, happy birthday to us! Ten years later to the minute, on 29 January 2004 at 01:49 UTC, the birthday party will begin in channel **#linuxneo** on **irc.freenode.net.** It'll last all day. Grab an IRC client, get a little [help](http://www.irchelp.org/irchelp/ircprimer.html) setting it up, and come join us on freenode!
projects / irc / freenode / web-7.0.git / blobdiff