Loading tsa/howto/irc.mdwn 0 → 100644 +126 −0 Original line number Diff line number Diff line IRC is the original [Internet Relay Chat](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_Relay_Chat), one the first (1988) protocol created for "chatting" in real-time on the Internet, and the oldest one still in use. It is also one of the oldest protocols still active on the internet, predating the web by a few years. This page is mostly a discussion of software that runs *on top* of IRC and operated by end users. # Tutorial Tor makes extensive use of IRC with multiple active channels on the [OFTC network](https://www.oftc.net/). Our user-visible documentation is at [this wiki page](https://trac.torproject.org/projects/tor/wiki/org/onboarding/IRC). # Howto We do not operate the OFTC network. The public support channel for OFTC is `#oftc`. # Reference We do operate a virtual machine for people to run their IRC clients, called `chives`. The previous host running that service is called `iranicum` and is still online at the time of writing. ## Installation The new IRC server has been setup with the `roles::ircbox` by weasel (see [ticket #32281](https://trac.torproject.org/projects/tor/ticket/32281)) in october 2019, to replace the older machine. This role simply sets up the machine as a "shell server" (`roles::shell`) and installs `irssi`. ## SLA No specific SLA has been set for this service ## Design Just a regular Debian server with users from LDAP. ## Issues No specific project has been created to track issues. # Discussion This page was originally created to discuss the implementation of "bouncer" services for other staff. While many people run IRC clients on the server over an SSH connexion, this is inconvenient for people less familiar with the commandline. It was therefore suggested we evaluate other systems to allow users to have more "persistence" online without having to overcome the "commandline" hurdle. ## Goals ### Must have * user-friendly way to stay connected to IRC ### Nice to have * web interface? * LDAP integration? ### Non-Goals * replacing IRC (let's not go there please) ## Approvals required Maybe checking with TPA before setting up a new service, if any. ## Proposed Solution Not decided yet. ## Cost Staff. Existing hardware resources can be reused. ## Alternatives considered * [irssi](https://irssi.org/) in some terminal multiplexer like [tmux](https://github.com/tmux/tmux) [screen](https://www.gnu.org/software/screen/) or [dtach](https://irssi.org/) * [weechat](https://weechat.org/) in the same or with another [interface](https://weechat.org/about/interfaces/) * [lounge](https://thelounge.chat/) webchat (nodejs, not packaged in Debian) * [ZNC](https://wiki.znc.in/ZNC), a [bouncer](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BNC_%28software%29#IRC) * a Matrix gateway like [Riot.IM](https://about.riot.im/) ### Discarded alternatives Most other alternatives have been discarded because they do not work with IRC and we do not wish to move away from that platform just yet. Other projects (like [qwebirc](https://thelounge.chat/)) were discarded because they do not offer persistence. Free software projects: * [Briar](https://briarproject.org/) - tor-based offline-first messenger * [Jabber/XMPP](https://xmpp.org/) - just shutdown the service, never picked up * [Jitsi](https://jitsi.org/) - audio, video, text chat * [Mattermost](https://mattermost.com/) - opensource alternative to slack, not federated * [Retroshare](https://retroshare.cc/) - old, complex, not packaged * [Rocket.chat](https://rocket.chat/) - not federated * [Scuttlebutt](https://www.scuttlebutt.nz/) - not a great messaging experience * [Signal](https://signal.org/) - in use at Tor, but poor group chat capabilities * [Telegram](https://telegram.org/) - [doubts about security reliability](https://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=767418#42) * [Tox](https://tox.chat/) - DHT-based chat system * [Wire](https://wire.com/) - not packaged in Debian * [Zulip](https://zulipchat.com/) - "team chat", not federated Yes, that's an incredibly long list, and probably not exhaustive. Commercial services: * [IRCCloud](https://www.irccloud.com/) - bridges with IRC * [Slack](https://slack.com/) - poor privacy * [Discord](https://discordapp.com/) - voice and chat app, mostly for gaming * [Hangouts](https://hangouts.google.com/) - Google service * Whatsapp - tied to Facebook * Skype - Microsoft * [Keybase](https://alternativeto.net/software/keybase/) - OpenPGP-encrypted chat, proprietary server-side None of the commercial services interoperate with IRC unless otherwise noted. Loading
tsa/howto/irc.mdwn 0 → 100644 +126 −0 Original line number Diff line number Diff line IRC is the original [Internet Relay Chat](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_Relay_Chat), one the first (1988) protocol created for "chatting" in real-time on the Internet, and the oldest one still in use. It is also one of the oldest protocols still active on the internet, predating the web by a few years. This page is mostly a discussion of software that runs *on top* of IRC and operated by end users. # Tutorial Tor makes extensive use of IRC with multiple active channels on the [OFTC network](https://www.oftc.net/). Our user-visible documentation is at [this wiki page](https://trac.torproject.org/projects/tor/wiki/org/onboarding/IRC). # Howto We do not operate the OFTC network. The public support channel for OFTC is `#oftc`. # Reference We do operate a virtual machine for people to run their IRC clients, called `chives`. The previous host running that service is called `iranicum` and is still online at the time of writing. ## Installation The new IRC server has been setup with the `roles::ircbox` by weasel (see [ticket #32281](https://trac.torproject.org/projects/tor/ticket/32281)) in october 2019, to replace the older machine. This role simply sets up the machine as a "shell server" (`roles::shell`) and installs `irssi`. ## SLA No specific SLA has been set for this service ## Design Just a regular Debian server with users from LDAP. ## Issues No specific project has been created to track issues. # Discussion This page was originally created to discuss the implementation of "bouncer" services for other staff. While many people run IRC clients on the server over an SSH connexion, this is inconvenient for people less familiar with the commandline. It was therefore suggested we evaluate other systems to allow users to have more "persistence" online without having to overcome the "commandline" hurdle. ## Goals ### Must have * user-friendly way to stay connected to IRC ### Nice to have * web interface? * LDAP integration? ### Non-Goals * replacing IRC (let's not go there please) ## Approvals required Maybe checking with TPA before setting up a new service, if any. ## Proposed Solution Not decided yet. ## Cost Staff. Existing hardware resources can be reused. ## Alternatives considered * [irssi](https://irssi.org/) in some terminal multiplexer like [tmux](https://github.com/tmux/tmux) [screen](https://www.gnu.org/software/screen/) or [dtach](https://irssi.org/) * [weechat](https://weechat.org/) in the same or with another [interface](https://weechat.org/about/interfaces/) * [lounge](https://thelounge.chat/) webchat (nodejs, not packaged in Debian) * [ZNC](https://wiki.znc.in/ZNC), a [bouncer](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BNC_%28software%29#IRC) * a Matrix gateway like [Riot.IM](https://about.riot.im/) ### Discarded alternatives Most other alternatives have been discarded because they do not work with IRC and we do not wish to move away from that platform just yet. Other projects (like [qwebirc](https://thelounge.chat/)) were discarded because they do not offer persistence. Free software projects: * [Briar](https://briarproject.org/) - tor-based offline-first messenger * [Jabber/XMPP](https://xmpp.org/) - just shutdown the service, never picked up * [Jitsi](https://jitsi.org/) - audio, video, text chat * [Mattermost](https://mattermost.com/) - opensource alternative to slack, not federated * [Retroshare](https://retroshare.cc/) - old, complex, not packaged * [Rocket.chat](https://rocket.chat/) - not federated * [Scuttlebutt](https://www.scuttlebutt.nz/) - not a great messaging experience * [Signal](https://signal.org/) - in use at Tor, but poor group chat capabilities * [Telegram](https://telegram.org/) - [doubts about security reliability](https://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=767418#42) * [Tox](https://tox.chat/) - DHT-based chat system * [Wire](https://wire.com/) - not packaged in Debian * [Zulip](https://zulipchat.com/) - "team chat", not federated Yes, that's an incredibly long list, and probably not exhaustive. Commercial services: * [IRCCloud](https://www.irccloud.com/) - bridges with IRC * [Slack](https://slack.com/) - poor privacy * [Discord](https://discordapp.com/) - voice and chat app, mostly for gaming * [Hangouts](https://hangouts.google.com/) - Google service * Whatsapp - tied to Facebook * Skype - Microsoft * [Keybase](https://alternativeto.net/software/keybase/) - OpenPGP-encrypted chat, proprietary server-side None of the commercial services interoperate with IRC unless otherwise noted.
