[sudo-discuss] IRC bot automation of parliamentary procedure with human code-audit openness

d'É-Aatenhejm timondocent at gmail.com
Wed Jan 30 23:44:05 PST 2013


Seconded. Extraspecially yummy.

How can I help?

If Jen + Mark are willing, we could use ourselves as a test case, or try 
to resolve the same thing we resolve naturally when Mark gets back, via 
IRC, too, to test the bot. I recommend "literate programming" as being 
both geek and non-geek friendly (and I like ECMAscript, squeak, Python, 
and UNICODE/multilingualism as tools).

Timon: Tel=voice=+1.415.900.8233; internet every 72 hours or so, for now.


On 1/30/13 11:10 PM, Garrett Robinson wrote:
> We discussed giving a Sudoroom IRC bot operator privileges at the last 
> (not tonight's) weekly meeting. While just giving the bot ops 
> privileges only moves the problem another layer away (to whoever can 
> control the bot), I was thinking about programming it with behavior to 
> enforce community guidelines.
>
> For example, if a user is misbehaving in the channel, other users 
> could priv msg the bot until a quorum is reached that allows the bot 
> to kick the misbehaving user.
>
> Allowing a bot to do this using policies that we have agreed upon 
> (running open source code of course) would be the best solution to 
> this problem IMHO.
>
> I have been working on a bot in node.js (mostly as a way to improve my 
> javascript) that is almost ready to be implemented in the channel. We 
> should compare code, see which codebase it would make sense to move 
> forward with, and implement this!
>
>
> On Wed, Jan 30, 2013 at 1:48 PM, Matthew Meier <wolfy at wlfy.it 
> <mailto:wolfy at wlfy.it>> wrote:
>
>     Just wanted to advertise that I had it as an option.
>
>     I didn't write any direct control into the bot thus far. But the
>     thing about a bot is that the community could control it. It
>     could, without emotion, act on the IRC policies we program it to know.
>
>     -Wolfy
>
>     On Wed, Jan 30, 2013 at 1:44 PM, David Rorex <drorex at gmail.com
>     <mailto:drorex at gmail.com>> wrote:
>
>         How is the bot any better than using the built in ChanServ
>         features?
>         And don't you end up with the same problem of deciding who gets to
>         control the bot?
>
>
>         On Wed, Jan 30, 2013 at 1:33 PM, Matthew Meier <wolfy at wlfy.it
>         <mailto:wolfy at wlfy.it>> wrote:
>         > I've also written an IRC bot in python. super basic that can
>         ops people from
>         > a list. It works with server messages directly too so i can
>         write it to
>         > perform any other actions that would be beneficial to our
>         IRC channel and
>         > policy.
>         >
>         > Just throwing that out there.
>         >
>         > -Wolfy
>         >
>         >
>         > On Wed, Jan 30, 2013 at 1:20 PM, Matthew Senate
>         <mattsenate at gmail.com <mailto:mattsenate at gmail.com>>
>         > wrote:
>         >>
>         >> OKAY, I've added some more to the conflict resolution item
>         on our agenda
>         >> tonight: https://pad.riseup.net/p/sudoroom
>         >>
>         >> // Matt
>         >>
>         >>
>         >> On Wed, Jan 30, 2013 at 1:15 PM, rachel lyra hospodar
>         >> <rachelyra at gmail.com <mailto:rachelyra at gmail.com>> wrote:
>         >>>
>         >>> i think this reply is dismissive and it makes me sadfaced.
>         >>>
>         >>> Yardena is talking about much deeper and more insidious,
>         and potentially
>         >>> divisive, issues than typos or spelling.  If you think her
>         concerns are
>         >>> boring, then you could easily ignore them and stay silent
>         without being
>         >>> dismissive and rude.
>         >>>
>         >>> Yardena did an awesome job of facilitating meetings for 6
>         straight hours
>         >>> last week... it seems to me like anyone who enjoyed that
>         experience with her
>         >>> might take a moment to give a damn about her concerns.
>         >>>
>         >>> Multiple folks have suggested it would be good to have a
>         clear IRC
>         >>> policy.  That seems like a good next step.  Maybe a wiki
>         page, seeded with
>         >>> Yardena's suggestion here?  I am not active on the channel
>         so am not sure if
>         >>> it makes sense for me to be too involved in that process...?
>         >>>
>         >>> R.
>         >>>
>         >>>
>         >>> On 1/30/2013 1:07 PM, Clarence Beeks wrote:
>         >>>>
>         >>>> Do you know why America is awesome?  We have the time and
>         privilege and
>         >>>> resources to argue
>         >>>> over replacing a "Y" with a "J".
>         >>>>
>         >>>> I can't wait for the next comet.
>         >>>>
>         >>>> On Wed, Jan 30, 2013 at 12:54 PM, Yardena Cohen
>         <yardenack at gmail.com <mailto:yardenack at gmail.com>
>         >>>> <mailto:yardenack at gmail.com
>         <mailto:yardenack at gmail.com>>> wrote:
>         >>>>
>         >>>>      >> Apparently the Sudo folk with admin privileges to
>         the #sudoroom
>         >>>>     IRC channel are jealously resistant to sharing control,
>         >>>>
>         >>>>      > This is not the case. Jordana and Tunabananas have
>         operator
>         >>>>     privileges and can perform any sort of moderation
>         they desire. If
>         >>>>     you have an issue with the content of #sudoroom,
>         creating a new
>         >>>>     channel will not solve that problem.
>         >>>>
>         >>>>     I avoided replying to this right away, because I was
>         too angry and
>         >>>>     creeped out over being called "Jordana." He did this
>         once before in
>         >>>>     the IRC while at the same time talking about me with
>         male pronouns
>         >>>>     (he/his) - he knows better, so I took this as
>         targeted harassment,
>         >>>> or
>         >>>>     at the very least disingenuous passive aggressive
>         participation in
>         >>>> the
>         >>>>     trolling games that have been going on lately. He's
>         apologized to me
>         >>>>     in private since then but I just want to register
>         that joking about
>         >>>>     hackerspace wars can be fun, but actually gaslighting
>         each other is
>         >>>>     NOT fun. It can be scary, intimidating, and seriously
>         compromise the
>         >>>>     accessibility and diversity of our community.
>         >>>>
>         >>>>     As to the substance, he's absolutely right that we
>         have op
>         >>>> privileges,
>         >>>>     but this obscures a few things. For technical
>         background, I
>         >>>> encourage
>         >>>>     people to read about the difference between +F and
>         +o. Your best
>         >>>> guide
>         >>>>     will be logging onto freenode and typing: "/msg
>         chanserv help flags"
>         >>>>     but more general guides are online:
>         >>>>
>         >>>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IRC#Modes
>         >>>> https://freenode.net/using_the_network.shtml
>         >>>>
>         >>>>     There've been conflicts over how to run the channel.
>         Namely:
>         >>>>
>         >>>>     1) The person with +F has used his privileges to
>         override the
>         >>>>     decisions of those with only +o, at several times
>         unquieting people
>         >>>>     we've quieted. The contexts for these were admittedly
>         controversial
>         >>>>     and fall on ideological fault lines over how to run
>         an IRC channel
>         >>>> in
>         >>>>     general, so I agree 100% with Andrew that a clear IRC
>         policy is the
>         >>>>     way to go. For the record, this has been mostly about
>         using
>         >>>> oppressive
>         >>>>     slurs, and my position has been not to tolerate them
>         very much. We
>         >>>>     happen to have in our community a person who makes it
>         his life's
>         >>>> work
>         >>>>     to push peoples' buttons with slurs, and happened to
>         be doing that
>         >>>> IN
>         >>>>     the IRC channel. He'd also made a habit of typing
>         anatomical words
>         >>>> at
>         >>>>     random times. Form your own opinions. Again, the
>         solution to this
>         >>>> may
>         >>>>     be more about having a clear policy, than who
>         enforces it.
>         >>>>
>         >>>>     2) The person with +F has acted in bad faith. He
>         flooded the channel
>         >>>>     with ascii art of an ejaculating swastika and claimed
>         it was an
>         >>>>     "accident", which would be a no-brainer kban in most
>         any channel.
>         >>>> When
>         >>>>     asked to share +F with other people, his response was
>         to vandalize
>         >>>> the
>         >>>>     Sudoroom wiki to say he is the "leader" (
>         >>>> http://sudoroom.org/wiki/Community_Structure ). In the
>         meantime, he
>         >>>>     shares +F with a friend of his who hadn't been to
>         Sudoroom since
>         >>>>     summer 2012 and didn't even seem to know anybody's
>         name. They'd also
>         >>>>     set the +S (successor) flag for a person who is
>         emphatically NOT a
>         >>>>     Sudoroom member and has even publically criticized
>         Sudoroom. This
>         >>>> sent
>         >>>>     a clear message to the rest of us that we were
>         dealing with people
>         >>>> who
>         >>>>     saw us as a joke; didn't respect our community; and
>         that there was
>         >>>>     little we could do about it in the short term. That
>         mistrust has
>         >>>>     colored all of the talk over IRC privileges since
>         then, and has only
>         >>>>     escalated since these same people came to our 1/16
>         meeting and made
>         >>>> it
>         >>>>     significantly longer (by complaining about the
>         meeting being long!),
>         >>>>     and also filled our meeting agenda notes with things
>         like "fuck",
>         >>>>     "poop" and "this is why you guys never hack anything".
>         >>>>
>         >>>>     I'm not bitter or anything, just trying to bring out
>         some of the
>         >>>>     subtext here for those not following why things are
>         happening the
>         >>>> way
>         >>>>     they are.
>         >>>>
>         >>>>     I think the best formulation for IRC rules that
>         everyone can agree
>         >>>> on
>         >>>>     would be something like: we want the IRC channel to
>         accurately
>         >>>> reflect
>         >>>>     the atmosphere at the physical sudoroom space. To me,
>         that nicely
>         >>>>     encompasses all the many behavioral problems and
>         general do's and
>         >>>>     don'ts. Honestly the room itself has rarely had the
>         kind of problems
>         >>>>     the channel has, because people tend to be a lot more
>         decent to each
>         >>>>     other face to face, and because it self-selects for
>         people who care
>         >>>>     about the community.
>         >>>> _______________________________________________
>         >>>>     sudo-discuss mailing list
>         >>>> sudo-discuss at lists.sudoroom.org
>         <mailto:sudo-discuss at lists.sudoroom.org>
>         >>>> <mailto:sudo-discuss at lists.sudoroom.org
>         <mailto:sudo-discuss at lists.sudoroom.org>>
>         >>>> http://lists.sudoroom.org/listinfo/sudo-discuss
>         >>>>
>         >>>>
>         >>>>
>         >>>>
>         >>>>
>         >>>> _______________________________________________
>         >>>> sudo-discuss mailing list
>         >>>> sudo-discuss at lists.sudoroom.org
>         <mailto:sudo-discuss at lists.sudoroom.org>
>         >>>> http://lists.sudoroom.org/listinfo/sudo-discuss
>         >>>
>         >>> _______________________________________________
>         >>> sudo-discuss mailing list
>         >>> sudo-discuss at lists.sudoroom.org
>         <mailto:sudo-discuss at lists.sudoroom.org>
>         >>> http://lists.sudoroom.org/listinfo/sudo-discuss
>         >>
>         >>
>         >>
>         >> _______________________________________________
>         >> sudo-discuss mailing list
>         >> sudo-discuss at lists.sudoroom.org
>         <mailto:sudo-discuss at lists.sudoroom.org>
>         >> http://lists.sudoroom.org/listinfo/sudo-discuss
>         >>
>         >
>         >
>         > _______________________________________________
>         > sudo-discuss mailing list
>         > sudo-discuss at lists.sudoroom.org
>         <mailto:sudo-discuss at lists.sudoroom.org>
>         > http://lists.sudoroom.org/listinfo/sudo-discuss
>         >
>
>
>
>     _______________________________________________
>     sudo-discuss mailing list
>     sudo-discuss at lists.sudoroom.org
>     <mailto:sudo-discuss at lists.sudoroom.org>
>     http://lists.sudoroom.org/listinfo/sudo-discuss
>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> sudo-discuss mailing list
> sudo-discuss at lists.sudoroom.org
> http://lists.sudoroom.org/listinfo/sudo-discuss

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://sudoroom.org/pipermail/sudo-discuss/attachments/20130130/dce32569/attachment.html>


More information about the sudo-discuss mailing list