[smlavine]

I think this is the number one reason more people don't end up using IRC nowadays. The flow for newer, younger users is:

- Use some software project, want to ask a question, see they have an "IRC channel" - Hopefully it's a hyperlink to an IRC web chat, or else they'll have to do a lot of research to find out what IRC is - Join the web chat link, see a room with a list of names - See no messages - Ask a question - Wait ten minutes, get no reply - Assume it's just dead and leave

The ability to see older messages would be a huge boon, and to see messages between connections as well. I've seen it happen that a user joins a channel, they leave because nobody talked to them, somebody answers their question after they leave, they rejoin, they ask the question again, then disconnect.