Okay, this will take way too many Tweets for me to write out properly, so I'll type it out here really quickly.
"IRC," like most other words, is both denotative and connotative. Internet Relay Chat, strictly speaking, is just a protocol, but it comes loaded with an expected methodology and culture.
Ideally, we should take advantage of the former to fix some of the problems with the latter.
##IRC is Modular
The crux of this is that IRC is modular in the sense that, as a protocol, it only requires a compliant client and server. Beyond that, there is no way that it has to be. We can layer client features, server features, and other features like bots on top of it.
But there's certainly a way that it is, which leads to some of the issues you mentioned in your tweets the other day. I believe we can break these into three general issues for newcomers: technological barrier to entry, social barriers to entry, and ingrained hostile behavior (active or passive).
##Technological barriers to entry
IRC clients are tricky to set up. There's no shortage of guides to get people started, but better UI/UX could resolve this problem easily. Friendlier setup interfaces are the obvious option, but other things like distributable configuration files/wizards for specific channels or servers might be a good option as well.
##Social barriers to entry
This includes problems such as lack of response, massive numbers of lurkers, and uncertainty re: etiquette. Guides have been created to introduce people, but we can build solutions on top of IRC, such as bots that introduce people and perhaps coordinate volunteer "hosts" that are on call to help newcomers.
##Ingrained hostile behavior
This one's harder because you're having to change a stubborn, existing culture. Still thinking on this one, but #nodejs' "Policy on Trolling" is a good start.
Thoughts?
(Other readers: suggestions or additions are welcome via comment or fork)
Technological Barriers
With regard to technological barriers to entry and easier access, there is of course the 'irc://' URL scheme that allows direct access to server and channel. This is however negated by the fact that if you are new, things like nick registration, authentication, cloaking and so on. It assumes that everything has been set up already.
Web-based IRC clients are available, but they lack certain features. For example, I just tried the Freenode web client, and despite having previously set up a registered nick, authentication and a cloak, accessing the web interface gives me an identity in a channel that explicitly lists my IPv4 address. Which has now been logged by everyone there, no doubt. Including, possibly, bots that publish the log to the web.
Oh, and I needed to explicitly call the web client over HTTPS, it defaults to plain HTTP. Which is a fail for several reasons. HTTPS should be the default these days, including HSTS, the works. No access without encryption.
By the way, the logging thing? Should definitely be absolutely clear up front if something is automatically being logged and published. Bot functionality should be documented, queryable. (Is that the case at the moment?)