Holidays 2010
Another year is ending and once more we’d like to pass on our very best wishes to everyone, families, friends and even their enemies as well as sparing a thought for those departed who could not be with their families.
I was directed to a story yesterday that touched my heart and I’d like to share it with you all… a real Good Samaritan (news.bbc.co.uk link). Personally I’ve lost (& gained) quite a lot this year, experiences & lessons that will stand me in good stead to pass on to those who need them and I’m confident that as everyone moves around their lives at this time of year if we all do a good deed it can help make the world a better place.
2010 for Anope was a productive year, some highlights:
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3 stable branch releases keeping the bugfixes going and adding InspIRCd 2.0 stable to the supported list.
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4 development branch releases (incl. patch level releases) bringing in a new database system, IPv6 link support, SSL link support, improved MySQL implementation, increased encryption(multiple) compatibility, DNS blacklist system (with threads), amongst others. You really should check it out if you haven’t yet, it’s rather impressive and is getting there.
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Automagic module compilation for Windows users when we make stable releases any modules on the modsite will be compiled automatically and made available for you guys. We find this has helped module authors who may not have the time to provide compiled dll’s for every release, why not do it for them with automation :)
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Moved to the git distributed version control system to give users & developers more flexibility.
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Rizon IRC Network continues to use a modified version of Anope to serve their users.
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SorceryNet has picked up a modified version of Anope to suit their requirements and uses this from 2010.
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The community spirit is increasing and lots of people have offered their help to beta test, this is fantastic.
A great year once again and we’re very grateful to the determination and sheer drive shown by the guys writing the code and the users thrashing it out and reporting bugs and feature improvements. We’re not sitting on our laurels though, there’s a lot more to be done yet and 2011 looks to be a promising year.
We always welcome people to pop in to irc.anope.org #anope for a chat about their use of the product with the view of making it better (no, that doesn’t include how to use raw!) and it’s your input that helps drive and shape the direction of the product moving forward. Not everyone can write the code for the software but this should not let it stop you contributing..
- Supporting users on the support channel / forums
- Testing bugs from the bug tracker to see if you can reproduce them
- The new language system in 1.9 would like to have the translations checked over.
- Checking through documentation we provide to ensure it’s correct & update anything we’ve missed.
But the biggest thing you can do for the project is keep on using the software, keep on asking for new features and every now and again tell us we’re doing the right thing, everyone loves a pat on the head when something is going well.
Finally, a bit thanks once again to our sponsors for their contributions to the project and indeed a special mention to DukePyrolator for providing this shiny fast webserver for us to use. Check out our Sponsors page and see if they can do you a good deal on reliable hosting for your IRC Network & websites.
It’s been a pleasure this year, and I am sure the next will be one also, we’d like to extend our best wishes and warmest regards to you in this festive period and hope you have a great time (beer!) and a fantastic new year moving forward.
Charles
on behalf of Anope