When comparing IRC vs Keybase, the Slant community recommends IRC for most people. In the question“What is the best team chat software?” IRC is ranked 12th while Keybase is ranked 25th. The most important reason people chose IRC is:
The IRC protocol is public and open, it is mature and stable, and has been implemented in numerous projects. This means that it can be used freely, for both open-source and commercial projects.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Open protocol
The IRC protocol is public and open, it is mature and stable, and has been implemented in numerous projects. This means that it can be used freely, for both open-source and commercial projects.
Pro Versatile
IRC offers choice. Choice in clients (mobile, desktop, web), in scripts those clients run, in servers and features those servers have. You can even set up your own server.
Pro Less distracting
Compared to other common solutions, IRC can be ignored when you are occupied doing something else. Most clients don't pester you with sounds or distracting visuals.
Pro Mentions
Every notable IRC client supports mentions - notifying you when your name is mentioned in the chat. The mentions in IRC are comparably better than Discord. Mentions used in Discord are easily abused; this doesn't happen in IRC. If someone's talking about you, you get a notification in IRC. This doesn't happen in something like Discord.
Pro Hundreds of avaliable clients
IRC has been around since 1988, so there is a ton of existing software to work with it. Everything from clients, to chat bots, to bouncers is already built.
Pro IRC networks are not centralized
You can choose your favorite server for an IRC network.
Pro No account necessary
No need to sign up for access, confirm your e-mail address. Just choose a nickname and you're done.
Pro User-friendly
IRC is user friendly if you use something like hexchat or kiwi webchat.
Pro DCC
Direct Client-to-Client allows users to share files in a similar way to torrenting.
Pro Great historic importance
Twitter hashtags came from IRC channel names.
Pro Upcoming IRCv3 will provide missing features
Pro E2E encrypted
Completely end-to-end encrypted.
Pro Identity verification
Users can publish proofs of identity (PGP public key, Twitter, Facebook, etc).
Pro FOSS
Free (as in beer) and Open Source Software.
Pro Encrypted file sharing
Securely share files.
Pro Public encrypted filesystem
For sharing files publicly.
Pro 250GB of free team file storage
250GB of free storage for encrypted files in a team.
Pro Public teams
Teams can be public with open access or admin-approved access. Opt-in to list public teams.
Pro Private teams
Teams can be completely private (access granted via admin-approval only, not publicly listed).
Pro Encrypted Git
Encrypted private or team Git repositories with automatic commit signatures.
Pro Blockchain technology
Based on blockchain technology.
Pro Sigchain verification
View/verify the cryptographic signature history of any user.
Pro PGP/GPG support
Encrypt/decrypt any PGP message or file with minimal effort.
Pro Public key encryption
Supports public key encryption.
Pro Private encrypted filesystem
Securely store personal files that only you can access.
Pro Shared private encrypted filesystem
Share files securely and privately with other users, a group of users, or a team.
Pro 250GB of free private file storage
250GB of free storage for privately-encrypted files.
Pro Free static site hosting
Host a public static website for free. Sites are automatically viewable via keybase.pub if an index.html or index.md exist in your public files.
Pro Emoji reactions to limit excessive posts and notifications
Pro E2E encrypted team chat
Teams are E2E encrypted, unlike Slack and other services.
Cons
Con Complex and not user friendly
Con Assumes some level of prior knowledge
The features are not discoverable the way they are in other apps and services.
Con You have to "idle" to see what's going on
You will see a blank chat screen at first because there is no recent history kept on servers.
Con Can be addictive
Con Poor multimedia support
Sending anything besides text is not easy or intuitive and depends on the client.