The only thing Slack has over IRC is a better web client and history.
It really makes me sad that it's 2016 and we haven't just updated IRC. Text is cheap: storing every byte every written on an IRC server would cost, essentially, nothing.
It really makes me sad that it's 2016 and we haven't just updated IRC. Text is cheap: storing every byte every written on an IRC server would cost, essentially, nothing.
I'd say that there's a lot more to it than that. IRC isn't intuitive for new, modern users. Take login and password recognition using one of the many NickServ options, for example.
[1] https://client02.chat.mibbit.com/?channel=%237daystodie&serv...
Oh, you mean its easier for people who already have github account? Who are these people that create accounts on a hosting service for one of the more complicated version control systems but find connecting to ftp servers and entering cli commands too daunting?
If you want to talk about confusing, in gitter I can navigate to a room and see what happens in it but I need to press an extra button to actually be able to talk in it? What? Rooms, private chats and /me? Many parts of gitter doesn't make sense if you don't know the whole chat paradigm that irc created.
Gitter derives it utility purely in the better web client and its custom built integration with github.
I agree -- I was extremely happy with my all-in-one IRC / XMPP app many years ago. Now everything is fragmented to the point of uselessness in the name of a few bells and whistles. Or maybe it's corporate greed. Either way, it's infuriating.