[vidarh]

Maybe 20 years ago.

If you gave someone time to figure it out, and they seemed unwilling or unable to figure out how to get on IRC, then yes, that'd indicate someone unwilling/unable to figure out a relatively simple tool.

But expecting them to already (or still) be IRC users today is a bit like expecting them to still spend lots of time on USENET.

Looking at the drastic decline in user numbers on the major IRC networks as numbers of internet users have skyrocketed should be enough to make it clear going by irc usage is likely to be a stupid idea.

Then again, I'm biased - I've not used IRC seriously for a decade at least, and did most of my IRC usage (including customizing irc-ii) about 20 years ago.