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EFnet or Eris-Free network is a major
Internet Relay Chat Internet Relay Chat (IRC) is a text-based chat system for instant messaging. IRC is designed for group communication in discussion forums, called ''channels'', but also allows one-on-one communication via private messages as well as chat and ...
(IRC) network, with more than 35,000 users. It is the modern-day descendant of the original IRC network.


History

Initially, most IRC servers formed a single IRC network, to which new servers could join without restriction, but this was soon abused by people who set up servers to sabotage other users, channels, or servers. Restriction grew and, in August 1990, eris.Berkeley.EDU was the last server indiscriminately allowing other servers to join it, Eris being the Greek goddess of strife and discord. A group of operators, with the support of
Jarkko Oikarinen Jarkko Oikarinen (born 16 August 1967) is a Finnish IT professional and the inventor of the first Internet chat network, called Internet Relay Chat (IRC), where he is known as WiZ. Biography and career Oikarinen was born in Kuusamo. While worki ...
, introduced a new "Q-line" into their server configurations, to "quarantine" themselves away from eris by disconnecting from any subset of the IRC network as soon as they saw eris there. For a few days, the entire IRC network suffered frequent
netsplit In computer networking, specifically Internet Relay Chat (IRC), netsplit is a disconnection between two servers. A split between any two servers splits the entire network into two pieces. Cause and effects Consider the graph to the right, which ...
s, but eventually the majority of servers added the Q-line and effectively created a new separate IRC net called ''EFnet'' (Eris-Free Network); the remaining servers which stayed connected to eris (and thus were no longer able to connect to EFnet servers) were called ''A-net'' (Anarchy Network). A-net soon vanished, leaving EFnet as the only IRC network. Continuing problems with performance and abuse eventually led to the rise of another major IRC network,
Undernet The Undernet is the third largest publicly monitored Internet Relay Chat (IRC) network, c. 2022, with about 36 client servers serving 47,444 users in ~6000 channels at any given time. IRC clients can connect to Undernet via the global round ro ...
, which split off in October 1992. In July 1996, disagreement on policy caused EFnet to break in two: the slightly larger European half (including Australia and Japan) formed
IRCnet IRCnet is currently the third largest IRC network with around 25,000 users using it daily. An early 2005 record had approximately 123,110 users simultaneously connected to the network. History Initially, most IRC servers formed a single IRC netw ...
, while the American servers continued as EFnet. This was known as The Great Split. In July 2001, after a string of
DDoS In computing, a denial-of-service attack (DoS attack) is a cyber-attack in which the perpetrator seeks to make a machine or network resource unavailable to its intended users by temporarily or indefinitely disrupting services of a host connec ...
attacks a service called ''CHANFIX'' (originally ''JUPES'') was created, which is designed to give back ops to channels which have lost ops or been taken over. In 2007, various EFnet servers began implementing SSL. February 2009 saw the introduction of a new ''CHANFIX'' module called ''OPME'', a mechanism for EFnet Admins to use to restore ops in an opless channel. It was proposed by Douglas Boldt to provide a much cleaner alternative to masskill, which was unnecessarily invasive and disruptive to the network. Later in 2009, some major IRC servers were delinked: irc.vel.net, irc.dks.ca, irc.pte.hu, EFnet's only UK server efnet.demon.co.uk, and EFnet's only UK hub hub.uk, which were sponsored by
Demon Internet Demon Internet was a British Internet service provider, initially an independent business, later operating as a brand of Vodafone. It was List of UK ISPs by age, one of the UK's earliest ISPs, offering dial-up Internet access services from 1 June ...
. In September 2010, the two western regions of the network (United States and Canada) merged into the North American region. While the North American and European regions are technically independent of each other, today many issues within EFnet are handled at a global level. On April 1, 2018, as an
April Fools' joke April Fools' Day or All Fools' Day is an annual custom on 1 April consisting of practical jokes and hoaxes. Jokesters often expose their actions by shouting "April Fools!" at the recipient. Mass media can be involved in these pranks, which may ...
, the 1990s IRC server eris.Berkeley.EDU server was resurrected. Some EFnet admins worked with the
Open Computing Facility The ''Open Computing Facility'' is an ASUC chartered program at the University of California, Berkeley, first founded in 1989. The OCF is an all-volunteer, student-run, student-initiated service group dedicated to free computing for the great ...
student group at UC Berkeley for months to resurrect the server for April Fools. Only a very few EFnet staff were aware of the efforts and the server was linked in via a defunct H:line for the (normally) leaf (client-only) server irc.efnet.nl, bypassing the normal linking procedure. As of 12:30 UTC on April 01 2018, eris.Berkeley.EDU was once again a valid IRC server on the "Eris Free" IRC network and accepted clients. At the same time, efnet.org begin redirecting to erisnet.org. eris.Berkeley.EDU delinked on April 02 2018 at 19:50 UTC.


Characteristics

EFnet has large variations in rules and policy between different servers as well as the two major regions (EU and NA). Both have their own policy structure, and each region votes on their own server applications. However, central policies are voted upon by the server
admin Administrator or admin may refer to: Job roles Computing and internet * Database administrator, a person who is responsible for the environmental aspects of a database * Forum administrator, one who oversees discussions on an Internet forum * ...
community which is archived for referencing. Due to EFnet's nature, it has gained recognition over the years for
warez Warez is a common computing and broader cultural term referring to pirated software (i.e. illegally copied, often after deactivation of anti-piracy measures) that is distributed via the Internet. Warez is used most commonly as a noun, a plural ...
,
hackers A hacker is a person skilled in information technology who uses their technical knowledge to achieve a goal or overcome an obstacle, within a computerized system by non-standard means. Though the term ''hacker'' has become associated in popu ...
, and
DoS attacks In computing, a denial-of-service attack (DoS attack) is a cyber-attack in which the perpetrator seeks to make a machine or network resource unavailable to its intended users by temporarily or indefinitely disrupting services of a host connec ...
. EFnet has always been known for its lack of IRC services that other IRC networks support (such as
NickServ Internet Relay Chat services (usually called IRC services) is a name for a set of features implemented on many modern Internet Relay Chat networks. Services are automated bots with special status which are generally used to provide users with a ...
and ChanServ, although it had a NickServ until April 8, 1994). Instead, the ''CHANFIX'' service was introduced to fix "opless" channels. All servers on EFnet run ircd-ratbox. EFnet's channel operators are generally free to run their channels however they see fit without the intervention of
IRC operator An IRC operator (often abbreviated as IRCop or oper) is a user on an Internet Relay Chat network who has privileged access. IRC operators are charged with the task of enforcing the network's rules, and in many cases, improving the network in vari ...
s. IRC ops are primarily there to handle network and server related issues, and rarely get involved with channel-level issues.


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Efnet Internet Relay Chat networks Internet properties established in 1990