In this release from Dalnet, the IRC chat network states that begining March 1, 2003 channels on the network will be prohibited from “Using a channel for the primary purpose of facilitating the transfer of files”. Does that mean those wishing to trade will actually have to talk to each other? Most likely this is a response, in some way, to the recent DDOS attacks against Dalnet, with the network admins blaming warez kiddies for the problems. What does this spell for the future, with many people using IRC as their main form of filesharing?
Q. I’ve been using DALnet for years, are you just going to toss me out?
A. DALnet will not actively be enforcing this policy until March 1st. It is our hope that this will give those of our users who ran file-transfer channels enough time to relocate without too much of a burden to them. We of course welcome you to stay and use DALnet for chatting purposes.
Q. But my channel distributes perfectly legal files. Surely you don’t mean me. Right?
A. This policy is not about legal/illegal files. There are other resources on the Internet for you to distribute your files. DALnet is not of them.
