4 ms·

Does anyone else find it bizarre that what is effectively a web-based IRC is (possibly) worth $8B?

• apocalyptic0n3 11y ago
  It's far more than web-based IRC and has a substantial userbase, a significant number of whom are paying for the service. Given the failures MS has had with communication tools in the past, I'm not surprised at all they mulled an $8B acquisition of Slack
  • vpkaihla 11y ago
    > It's far more than web-based IRC How exactly?
    • ChrisLTD 11y ago
      Inline animated gif support.
    • avtar 11y ago
      Mobile clients, persistent chat history when switching clients/devices, search, @mentions notify you when you're away from your desk, and easy integrations with lots of services. P.S. I mainly use IRC everyday :)
      • pmlnr 11y ago
        Which is IRC + ZNC + Andchat + bots...
        • gisenberg 11y ago
          This echoes the "couldn't you just replicate Dropbox with x + y + z ..." mindset of the past.
          • drdaeman 11y ago
            Why the past? I tried to use Dropbox but it just didn't have what I wanted it to have. So, I find it to be not only replaceable, but awfully inferior to the x+y+z-style solutions.
        • st3v3r 11y ago
          Which takes time to set up, whereas it's already done for you in Slack.
          • pmlnr 11y ago
            Of course it does. But you get to keep your data for yourself.
      • ant6n 11y ago
        "persistent" up to 10,000 messages per team.
        • zaphar 11y ago
          Forever if you pay for it. i.e. they have a revenue stream.
    • mdonahoe 11y ago
      Revenue