whelp, likely just blind as a bat.... but im coming up empty. This is the single post via forum search I can find that mentions "IRC" and nothing im seeing in FAQ.

Is the IRC dead or do we have one? If so, what are the details please?

I'd say IRC is dead bro...
This topic is 12 years old.

I'm not here long but I never saw any IRC channels.
It is possible people think I'm the stinky kid with sticky hands, so they didn't invite me.... but I doubt it.

Yeah. The IRC chat was closed due to lack of users actually using it. We can always make a new one but maybe we should use something more modern like Discord or smth. We are always open for suggestions.

understandable. assuming this crowd is made up of the demographic that tends to be less prolific when it comes to IRC lol. I'm just ocd/pedantic and always join them if they exist. Wanted to make sure i wasnt missing it. personally wouldnt be averse to a disc, a lot of people frown on it for privacy reasons but for ease of use its where its at

Yes. We have been looking at different solutions for our members to enable more social activity and chat and Discord always comes up as a great alternative. But we never pulled the trigger due to the issue with privacy. Ideally we would have our own discord so our members details are not in any other sites database.

So its complicated...

We could create a Discord server with a disclaimer that your private details will be shared by a third party and then our members can decide for themselves if they would like to join or not.

Ideally we would also have a system where we can verify so that the only users with access to the Discord would be active members.

How about using something like the Element app.
It is an Matrix protocol client that mimics Discord.

Matrix protocol is one of the new super secure super private messaging protocols.
It's Open Source and we could host our own server.
And there is a variety of clients supporting the protocol: link

I found out about it because all of the privacy Crypto community started using it in the last year or two.
And these guys are serious privacy freaks... like the Monero community.
Just mentioning this because if we run Matrix protocol on our own server people can use it with a complete ease of mind.


Edit:
ps. I'm very much against Discord.

It sounds really great! But when I check the site the "self hosted" for over 200 users cost 10 bucks per user a month!?!

pricing

Am I missing something lol? It sounds very expensive.

I'm pretty sure it's free if you host Matrix protocol server itself: link
And then people connect to it using the Element client app or any other Matrix protocol client: link.

If you click on the "Download" button above the "Free up to 200 users" line in the link you posted it says "Element Server Suite"
But we do not need the "Server Suite"... right?
Only the fancy "Suite" is priced there.
If you use the Matrix server over SSH Linux terminal it's free. (I prefer the terminal anyway)

Open Source projects often do this.
They are free... but they do not tell you they are free on the front page.
On the front page they offer you a paid service.
And if you are a business you want to get the paid one.... cuz government and regulation and shite.
But if you go to the GitHub you can just download the binaries directly.

Edit:
Project GitHub: https://github.com/matrix-org/synapse/
^ this is where you get it for free

Edit2:
I took a quick look at the documentation.
And I think we could use this: link to only allow registration from the tracker members (as you were mentioning before).