> There is no reason why you can't take 10min to setup a IRC with SSL on your own
For the VAST majority of people this would not take just 10 min. Not only would I first need to research the different IRC servers out there but I'd have to get a server to install it on (which is not the fastest processes where I work). Then I need to get an SSL cert (which is like pulling teeth here) unless I want to use self-signed and listen to everyone bitch about dealing with that (and some aren't tech people and I've have to walk them through that). Then I need to find clients for everyone (Windows/Mac/Linux) also now chat is only accessible from inside the company unless I want to expose it publicly then I need to worry about security.....
OR I could pay $X/mo and have it up and running in seconds... Slack is not the end-all-be-all but I quite like it and use it with friends as well as public slacks. IRC is great but let's not pretend it takes seconds to set up everything you need...
For the VAST majority of people this would not take just 10 min. Not only would I first need to research the different IRC servers out there but I'd have to get a server to install it on (which is not the fastest processes where I work). Then I need to get an SSL cert (which is like pulling teeth here) unless I want to use self-signed and listen to everyone bitch about dealing with that (and some aren't tech people and I've have to walk them through that). Then I need to find clients for everyone (Windows/Mac/Linux) also now chat is only accessible from inside the company unless I want to expose it publicly then I need to worry about security.....
OR I could pay $X/mo and have it up and running in seconds... Slack is not the end-all-be-all but I quite like it and use it with friends as well as public slacks. IRC is great but let's not pretend it takes seconds to set up everything you need...