it would be a good idea to create an irc channel for better communication between the team (community manager/s) and the players .
i don't support it either. they have facebook, forum, site, twitter and must be in game also. if they are active on those it's enough..
i don`t like it either + if you want irc - create 1 channel and post it here ppl that use "it" will log if they want don`t use irc anymore 2 tbh :d
generally you are right that irc is outdate technology but: 1) no history - here you can troll and flame all day long without fear of reprecussions, while you can keep the forum clean and friendly-helpful with some positive answers for those who need them; i think that the irc chat is a great way to drop some pressure 2) it looks alot like the in-game chat 3) it's a massive chat and as such it's a way for people to communicate online - actually lots of games and online resources use it, so why not l2 too?
if you want a communication platform for the server use the forum thats all irc would be pretty messed up and would take away manpower(for moderation) from the necessary things.
we have already so many ways to communicate with them. if they are there to listen, we will receive our requested answers as well. sure, they need some time to check and give a proper answer, depending on who and how far the answer will go in innova's staff hierarchy, for eq. via support.4game.com gms always answered quiet fast if you had an ingame problem.