As there's many threads relating to the controversy surrounding Freenode, I guess everything about it has been already said.

It's sad to see it crash and burn this way. I have fond memories of freenode, and especially the #django-dev channel. Before Discord or Slack existed, I remember as a relative newcomer to web development frameworks, it was an invaluable resource to me. This was a time when I think Django 0.96 was being prepared for release.

I always got some help for my newbie questions and especially the core contributors were both tremendously helpful and exceptionally polite and friendly towards me every single time.

I haven't used Django in years, not because the framework isn't good, but because my career just took a turn elsewhere. The fundamental attitude and professionalism of the Django community was rock solid and from what I hear nothing has changed.

Here's to memories of Freenode and for the bright future of Django and Libera!