Drew DeVault argues that IRC's missing features — rich text, embedded images, threaded messages, long-message UIs — are actually strengths, not weaknesses. He contends that a shared, minimal baseline creates a better experience for all users, including those on old hardware, niche OSes, or using screen readers. He critiques attempts to add non-uniform features to IRC, showing how they degrade the experience for clients that don't support them and enable phishing. He also argues that features common in Slack and Discord (infinite backlogs, gifs, threads) are the root cause of the distraction and information-overload complaints those platforms receive. IRC's decentralized, volunteer-run, monetization-free nature is celebrated, and the author expresses concern that adding demanded features would harm the culture IRC has built over 30+ years.
Sort: