For better or worse, other platforms such as Slack, Discord, and Gitter have beaten IRC in attracting new programmers. While IRC is a little more open as a pro

For better or worse, other platforms such as Slack, Discord, and Gitter have beaten IRC in attracting new programmers. While IRC is a little more open as a protocol, the reality is it lacks the features these other platforms provide in attracting new visitors. In my observation this might include: Mobile support, being able to see past messages, emoji, embeded video/gif, having a company maintain and add features, and being somewhat less anonymous. I doubt IRC networks such as freenode will disappear anytime in the near future, but I doubt it will grow much either given the alternatives.