[severus_snape]

For most channels you don't need an IRC account. And there are web interfaces like https://web.libera.chat/.

I'm trying to subscribe to Discord. I'm currently stuck in a captcha loop.

[pxc]

100%.

Clicking a link to open a chatroom directly, with no account creation process, is infinitely simpler than account creation, potentially with several layers of verification (CAPTCHA, email, phone verification to join a server...).