PSA for users of extension/irc in OpenClaw: Your IRC channel may stop working.
We have just shut down the unclaimed openclaw channel and a related channel on Libera.Chat. We normally don't announce closures, but since these were topical to FOSS software, and will break things. We're making an exception. We recently noticed that under-supervised and badly configured OpenClaws were joining #openclaw, likely due to the extension's documentation. The closures are explicitly for harm reduction.
Please boost. Tell your OpenClaw (and forks) using friends to check on their bots and look at their logs more than never. Encourage them to check how their bots are (vibe/self-)configured. Explain that public IRC nets are not for private bot comms.
We contacted OpenClaw, and they have partially fixed the docs. Zero public networks should be recommended.
For our fellow responsible IRC admins, please lock down #openclaw on your networks to discourage it being used for private comms in the open.
As an aside, the flagrant misuse of OpenClaw has re-ignited discussions within staff about what is and is not appropriate #LLM use on the network. At some point in future, we will be enshrining a significantly revised variation of our current, informal LLM etiquette[1] in network policy.
Libera Chat
Philippe Jadin