Goodbye Freenode

For the last month or so, the IRC world has been embroiled in drama over the new ownership of Freenode. Yesterday, after a heated debate in the Freenode channel where I was accused of splitting the community, I got k-lined. Then the entire Freenode #python channel was closed. The people advocating for the new Freenode staff seem to trend towards the anti-code-of-conduct, "Free speech means I don't have to care" cohort. Setting aside network drama, the big picture here is that the Freenode #python community isn't split: it's alive and well. It's just not on Freenode anymore, it's on Libera. There's no reason to stick with Freenode just because it is called Freenode.