It does seem like this would be a lot easier if there were also chat (or even if it were chat-only). If you're talking about code, it would be really helpful to be able to paste in snippets or links to resources.
Make a game of it for the users, have a bot which reports the user stats (which users can auth via privmsg/ctcp password).
edit: a bot which reports stats on a request basis only, and privmgs all interactions with other users! no channel spam!
However, I think the cool part is that it's not text. Personally I've find it to be really helpful when I'm stuck just to talk through the problem with somebody else. Often just the act of vocalizing dislodges the log jam.
Got my next product idea: mashup of SAM and Eliza as a developer help line
Hence the rubber duck debugging method: