The mere fact that we always see several people jumping in to assert how IRC is alive and kicking is in fact a giveaway that it, if not actually dying, is at least starting to smell a bit funny. (And frankly I say - good riddance! It's a protocol that's at least a decade past it's sell-by date, modern options are so much better)
People often don't seem to use modern alternatives like matrix though. I often see people switching to whatever the popular walled garden of the year is instead. Personally I prefer an open ecosystem to animated GIFs, even if it might occasionally smell.
