Hello, dear reader! The Betsu association is going to be suspended on July 18. But before we talk about the end, let’s talk about the beginning!
The beginning
Betsu was originally called REPW (The Rainbow Everywhere Project). This project was planned a long while ago but wasn’t brought to fruition. Later, the CatServ project was planned, which aimed to provide free/libre hosting for software like Invidious and SearXNG. Then, CatServ Membership was also planned with the idea of offering web hosting, XMPP server, and potentially more services. Additionally, LibreCDN was in the works, which would host mirrors for projects such as GNU, FreeBSD, Trisquel, and others.
Unfortunately, technical problems prevented these ideas from becoming a reality. But then…
The Betsu Project was founded, and CatServ was finally created. It hosted SearXNG and Invidious. Later on, we added an XMPP server and The Lounge (an IRC bouncer), and started accepting requests. Everything worked great.
Eventually, “The Betsu Project” became simply “Betsu!” and transitioned into a UNA Not-For-Profit (Unincorporated Association).
Later on, a major update called Betsu Next was planned, a new site was created (private), and we added more services. These included a DNS service that blocks ads, trackers, malware, and other harmful elements, as well as webpaste services. We also established the IRC Network – C&C IRC.
The end
Everything seemed to be going well, but I (the founder of Betsu) started encountering more and more health problems in real life. I was diagnosed with Chronic Progressive Schizopytal Disorder and other issues. I often experience depression, go to doctors almost every day, undergo medical tests, and deal with various challenges. I have no time, desire, or energy to manage Betsu. As a result, some services became insecure and broke down. Even simple tasks like going to the toilet have become significant challenges for me, leaving me unable to do anything.
Continuing would be impractical, so now Betsu will be suspended on July 18. The official site states:
“Due to real-life problems, we are unable to manage the Betsu Infrastructure. On July 18, all accounts will be suspended, all data will be permanently removed, and all services will be down. C&C IRC will continue working in the usual mode but may be suspended in the future. Eventually, we will come back with something awesome, but for now, we have to say goodbye. Thanks to everyone for their support and for being with us all the time. See you in the best times. Sincerely, RANET Systems.”
It’s not really the end!
It’s the end of the current Betsu, but it’s not the end overall! Someday, we will return with something truly great, although it won’t be in the near future. If I remain alive, of course. Betsu will continue to serve as a CDN and C&C IRC.
That’s it.
Please send any comments to ahr (at) anche (dot) no.