From fear of getting booted by admins, I usually do not contridict them. However, in matter of IRC, it is no where near being 'on the way out.' In fact it is still a large part of the net just as message boards and usernet groups are still a large part. Hell, almost all chat programs are based on the principles and theories that have arisen from IRC. Website based chat programs have deep roots in IRC. In fact, an IRC chat room ( or channel) can be moderated and controlled far more effeciantly than any website based chat program I have used. Hell, most web server chat programs I have used still support connections from IRC clients. IRC is most definatly not on the way out.