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Looking for host that actually allows IRC without lies

Reviews by adam20 15 replies 1.2K views
adam20

Member OP

Ex-Abuse Desk

#1

Host that actually allows IRC without lies

TOS archaeology project, three months. Here's what "IRC-friendly" actually means:

Contabo: Their ToS has something about IRC being permitted on dedicated ports, from memory. The ticket said: "Your BNC triggered our abuse system. Account terminated, no appeal." No BNC. Just irssi.

OVHcloud: Sales chat confirmed "IRC fine!" But their ToS has something about automated chat protocols needing an enterprise plan, from memory. $89/month enterprise plan.

Vultr: Explicitly allows. Until you get DDoS'd. Then the ticket said: "IRC attracts attacks. We nullrouted your IP. Find another host."

I need actual verified hosts. Not "yes but actually no." Current budget: $15/month. Bouncer + small channel, no file sharing.

The ticket said I should ask here. So here I am.

reported. resolved. repeat.
brusselsdzire1

Member

#2

Article 13 flashbacks intensify. The EU's approach to platform liability made hosts paranoid about any user-generated real-time communication. GDPR doesn't help—IRC logs are processing of personal data, many providers simply lack legal basis to store them.

Your best bet is providers with explicit IRC clauses in Data Processing Agreements, not just TOS. I can share a checklist. Bureaucratic, but necessary.

wendy

Member

#3

Windows Server handles IRC services quite stably with proper IIS reverse proxy configuration. Most Linux-focused hosts simply haven't tested modern Windows IRC solutions. RackNerd offers Windows nodes with no IRC restrictions in their TOS, though I admit they're pricier.

Have you tried restarting it?
tarekcai

Member

spaces are for websites

#4

IRC is protocol
Protocol is text
Text is data
Data is speech
Speech is free
Or is it
TOS says yes
Abuse says no
Who decides
Not you
HostHatch allows — https://hosthatch.com
I asked
Twice
Tabs for truth
They confirmed
In writing
Email
Not chat
Chat lies
Email is evidence
Article 13 taught us this
Or did it

MA

Member

#5

HostHatch "in writing" — did they mean the DPA or just sales?

tarekcai

Member

spaces are for websites

#6
maddot said:
HostHatch "in writing" — did they mean the DPA or just sales?

Sales email. Level 1. I asked again, escalated, got Level 2. Same answer. "IRC is permitted on all plans." No port restrictions. No enterprise tier. I have the thread archived.

Not a DPA. HostHatch (https://hosthatch.com) does not offer EU Standard Contractual Clauses that I could find. For personal use this matters less. For a community server with EU users, brusselsdzire1 is correct. You need the DPA.

adam20

Member OP

Ex-Abuse Desk

#7
tarekcai said:
Not a DPA. HostHatch does not offer EU Standard Contractual Clauses

This is the gap. Every "yes" I got was from sales or support. Never legal. The moment abuse gets involved, that "yes" evaporates. Contabo's abuse team did not care what sales told me. OVHcloud's abuse team did not care what the chat rep said.

The HostHatch email is better than chat. Still not binding against abuse.

reported. resolved. repeat.
lee_mcr

Member

#8
adam20 said:
The HostHatch email is better than chat. Still not binding against abuse.

Manchester represent. I've run ZNC on a HostHatch London VPS for two years. No issues. But I am one user, low traffic, no public bouncer. The DDoS problem adam20 hit with Vultr is real—my previous host was Linode, same story, nullroute after a sustained amplification attack on IRC ports.

The actual answer might be: run the bouncer on a cheap VPS, connect to a shell on another. Spread the risk.

Honey badger don't care... about downtime
brusselsdzire1

Member

#9
lee_mcr said:
Spread the risk.

This is what Article 13 incentivized. Not compliance. Fragmentation. Users build workaround architectures that are harder to monitor, not easier.

I maintain the checklist. DM me. It covers DPA clauses, acceptable use definitions of "automated communication," and whether the provider treats IRC as a protocol or as a "chat service" under their content rules. The latter distinction matters for liability carve-outs.

wendy

Member

#10
lee_mcr said:
Run ZNC on a HostHatch London VPS

London to London latency with Windows Server is excellent. I run InspIRCd on a RackNerd node, not HostHatch. RackNerd's TOS is silent on IRC entirely. Silence is not permission, but it is also not prohibition. Three years, no abuse ticket.

The IIS reverse proxy handles TLS termination cleanly. Linux users forget that Windows has built-in certificate management that Just Works.

Have you tried restarting it?

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