We use IRC at work, but I think when you setup an open source project community, you have to think carefully. IRC is for instant communication. If parts of your community are located in a timezone that is only online when you (the maintainer of the project) are not, that will create frustration, unless you start setting up all kind of bouncers or tools to let you be online at all time. In the end, I tend to prefer forums or mailing lists, because people writing can elaborate a bit more, and receive more meaningful feedback later on... but I guess I'm old school :)
We use IRC at work, but I think when you setup an open source project community, you have to think carefully. IRC is for instant communication. If parts of your community are located in a timezone that is only online when you (the maintainer of the project) are not, that will create frustration, unless you start setting up all kind of bouncers or tools to let you be online at all time. In the end, I tend to prefer forums or mailing lists, because people writing can elaborate a bit more, and receive more meaningful feedback later on... but I guess I'm old school :)