@smxi @faithisleaping @tarajdactyl @malcircuit LOL are you for real? something like file uploads (at least images!) should be a BASIC feature, not something extra.

sorry my friend, but this isn't gonna fly

@smxi kids don't want text-only chat; they want file transfer and animated gifs, emoticons and video hosting

and that's fine too *shrug*

@basxto Yes and discord has all those things built-in, ensuring no one feels left out when the emoji are being thrown around. Discord also has emoji which aren't part of Unicode and allows servers (I still hate that naming) to add their own and that's not something IRC+Unicode can do.

It also has an interface and login system that people understand. Sure, it uses all of Web 2.0 and you can't write your own client, etc. but, if you're trying to build an accessible community, "Sign in with discord, here's a link to our server" is something people understand. Trying to walk new users through setting up an IRC client and authenticating so they can actually talk (basically required if you don't want a flood of bots) isn't trivial.

User experience matters. Just because someone CAN do X doesn't mean it's a good choice of X is a giant PITA.

And then there's moderation... Most IRC servers fight against spam bots but that's about it. Malicious users are a real problem. There are blocks and things but they're archaic, badly documented, and easily avoided. Discord's combination of moderation tools and passionate account protections are actually quite effective. You can create additional accounts to try and run around moderation but Discord frowns on that and will start using heavier tools like IP bans etc. if they find you doing so.