Brion : If our servers are cut off, we could lose that communications
channel as well.
IRC server don't have to be at same place/server than Wikipedia ones.
Gerard : All this work is done to a large extend by volunteers. The
current infrastructure needs all the attention it can get. IRC on wikimedia servers will devide the attention and that is not a good idea at this moment in time.
I didn't said I like this feature right now ;o) It's just a long term view.
Hashar : If your firewall is blocking IRC, you should probably doing
something else ... like working :o)
Sure ;o) But running tool as CGI:IRC on a Wikimedia server may be nice for those you want to use discussion under a firewall. Not necessary during working time ;o)
Aoineko