My only experience with slack and gitter is through the browser and it 'required' piles of javascript, had no sane keybindings, and the UI was sluggish. They're

My only experience with slack and gitter is through the browser and it 'required' piles of javascript, had no sane keybindings, and the UI was sluggish. They're also proprietary, walled gardens. If that's the future, then here's to 30 more years of IRC!