[cydrobolt]

I can't agree more with this headline. I can concede that IRC isn't the most modern of technologies, but it is effective and well-developed at what it does. There is a FOSS ecosystem that can be achieved with IRC, which cannot be achieved with Slack. As a FOSS project, you can commit to only using free and open software when you also use IRC, as software such as atheme or charybdis are all open.

Additionally, Slack is more privatized, with a less opportunities for enhancement (e.g IRC bots, IRC webchat, many clients). All users also need to sign up prior to use, which is just simply not viable. IRC manages large influx of help-seekers or project members well with its op-voice-user and ban/quiet system, allowing for channel operators to handle the high amount of users without a problem.

On the other hand, Slack fails at all of these points, as it is intended for internal team usage and struggles with this specific usecase.

Furthermore, most FOSS contributors are also not contributors to a single project only. For instance, I personally contribute to a variety of FOSS projects, and it is extremely easy for me to coordinate with all of those projects simply by opening a new channel on my freenode or OFTC network in my IRC client. Slack lacks this, requiring a new tab for each project and really lacking support for FOSS operating systems such as Linux distributions, a problem that is likely not going to be fixed due to its closed-source one-client structure.