If your filter is based on the irc, and the number of people there is declining, basically it means that only the most hard-core users are remaining. And usually that means that they know how to use it.
Sure, if you're hiring people to be skilled IRC users.
But, I think what you're trying to hire are skilled software developers. It's apparently been left as an exercise for the reader to demonstrate any correlation between these two skills.
@munificent as the title of the post states IRC is a filter.. filter used after candidate is selected from a pool of people that have necessary skills, other than using IRC.. The author simply talks about selecting from this pool people that can use simple tools like IRC.
So that means that people disapproving don't know how to use IRC? Well, poor souls..
Kids these days can't use IRC, don't know that gopher still exists, never used usenet...
Being a software developer, or admin, or even technical writter, and never even trying to learn how the Internet looked like before everything was turned to Javascript...How sad..
Yeah, I just said they will be better:) That assumes they will be older :). Recruiters may not believe that but an actual life experience does make you better:)