[AC-Admins] [NOTICE] Intent to Decommission otter.anthrochat.net

[Simba]

Hey guys... BlueOtter sent this message to the admin list and it got
caught in the hold queue, waiting for approval.  I thought I accepted it
to go out, but it disappeared from the queue and I didn't receive a
copy, so I'm sending it on his behalf...


Admin team,

The time has come for me to admit, that after 14 years, I should hang up
the hat for "otter.anthrochat.net".  It has been a lot of fun, and I
learned a lot compiling and running an ircd, figuring out services, and
handling the IRCop role.  Above all, I was happy to support a free and
open conversation in an unmoderated format with user controls to empower
them instead of admins on content.  I started out strongly believing,
and still believe, that is critical to the long-term success of our
community.

Quite honestly, I love IRC, but the always-on protocol doesn't meld with
my remote/traveling-for-work lifestyle.  Separately, running a secure
network is important, and I frankly do not have the time to give the
proper attention to administer a constituent server.  It would be
irresponsible for me to pretend, so I'm just calling it.

I let Simba know this evening and posted the same in #opers.  I would
suggest otter be removed from the DNS rotary to allow a smooth
deprecation.  In a couple of months, we can see if it looks good to
figure out a 'pull the plug date'.  There's nothing pushing a specific
date on my end, but I would think by end of year, the instance would be
wiped and any links would be removed from your configs.

I appreciate the opportunity to contribute to our vision, and I wish
AnthroChat the very best in years to come.

-BlueOtter