The International Free Speech Club is a small organisation of individuals committed to promoting the idea of Free Speech. You are free to join our conversation by joining the #freespeech channel on Undernet. If you would rather download an application such as mIRC, click here to learn more.

Our Mission
Despite our most profound respect for the noble cause of associations such as the UBC Free Speech Club, membership to such associations tend to be limited to campus organisations; our goal is to extend the scope of the Free Speech conversation to individuals which do not benefit from the privilege of higher-education. As a result, anyone is free to join the Club; simply login to IRC with your favorite client, join the #freespeech channel and spark a conversation!

Our commitment
While our favorite conversations centers around documenting instances of blatant violation of freedom of speech, we encourage our users to discuss any topics they desire without fear of being banned. In order to promote free expression to its fullest potential, we still reserve the right to exclude any user from our community, especially for the following reasons:

 – Usage of our channel to disseminate or distribute pirated software, illegal pornographic material or private information concerning individuals (a.k.a. doxing);
 – Repeated attempts to restrain other user’s freedom of expression;
 – Soliciting members of our community to leave (surely, they are grown up enough to take that decision on their own).

Why IRC?
IRC is the last bastion of free speech. In trying times such as today, when big tech corporations control the flow of the conversation by being the gatekeepers of free expression, IRC offers us with the means to gather together and discuss our ideas without fear of retribution. IRC is not a service; it does not belong to a company. Rather it is a protocol, which means that any successive attempts to shut us down (even by Undernet) will result in our reemergence by our own means. Servers are created and maintained by people like you and I. We would rather not have to host a server ourselves, but will have the means to do so if necessary.

Isn’t this just a glorified echo-chamber?
Critics of the free speech movement often analyse whether a group committed to free speech is really opened to a diverse range of opinions. It is often noticed, after such analysis, that such groups tend to tilt towards one side of the political spectrum. Our response to that is the following: If you feel like your opinion is underrepresented in our movement, join us! Only you have the power to balance the playing field. Our club is open to anyone, and we are looking forward to watch you wield your most sacred weapon; the power of free thought, free speech and free expression.

Aren’t you providing a platform for extremists to discuss their ideas?
Most of us agree that hate and extremism is bad, yet we find little consensus to agree on these definitions. If you believe that our community has been corrupted by extremist thinkers, don’t hesitate to confront their ideas! You can also use this as an opportunity to study extremist behavior. “If the enemy is broadcasting, listen to the enemy broadcast”. On the other side, if you think your ideas are extreme and potentially hateful, you are free to express them in our channel; however, be prepared that they might be firmly rejected by members of our community who advocate for peace and who won’t be afraid of using their freedom of speech to confront your hateful rhetoric.

Everyone in your club is a “Nazi” !
It is possible that our commitment to free speech draws users with ideas you might see as unacceptable. Hell, we might even deem them unacceptable ourselves! But we committed, so here we are; Bring your friends, don’t let the cause of free speech be usurped by a bunch of Nazis! Only you have the power to restore the balance.

Conclusion
Again, everyone is welcome to join us. Whether you are a Jew or anti-Semite, whether you are capitalist or communist, whether the banner you carry is black lives matter, confederate, soviet union or gay pride, whether you are a fan of Jordan Peterson or Slavoj Zizek, whether you study intersectional feminist theory or fight against it, whether you read Nietzsche or Foucault or Derrida, your group identity is irrelevant; we are interested in the content of your speech and the ideas that you have.

Join us!