[matricaria]

I still wonder if I’m doing thing wrong, if so, please tell me.

For me, IRC just doesn’t work. I can’t receive messages when I’m offline. I can’t read what other wrote while i was offline. These for me are just plain red flags.

I also can’t search if somebody else asked the same question before.

There is no good mobile (iOS) app. I tried Palaver, it’s ok but every other chat app is much better.

Lastly, IRC is really hard to set up and log into. And I would call myself pretty tech savvy. This just eliminates it from ever becoming mainstream.

[progval]

If the networks you are connecting to don't support persistence / chat history (most don't, because of the technical and legal complications), then you need to either setup a bouncer (pounce, Soju, ZNC), pay someone to host it for you (chat.sr.ht, IRCCloud), or find a free host you feel you can trust (plenty of results when googling "free IRC bouncer")