Well first of all I am not active on IRC, so I don't deal with request relating to it.
As for your original plead, I do not know who the admins of the IRC are, nor if they have noticed this thread. (I would assume they would have answered if they had).
I believe the IRC admins are some of the team members, so if you can get them to notice this and to respond, then they can decide what (if anything) should be done. If they don't have board admin privileges themself, they would certainly know how to get hold of one of the admins.
That said, since the question on how IRC functions seems in the room....
I can subscribe to the idea that certain things are easier to solve in a chat, that in a forum.
But, if I were to enter IRC now, and I were to pose some question I had (that requires some expertise of the person who answers), what are the odds, that a person who can answer is at that moment in the room? And not only in the room, but actively reading?
Because, unless that is the case, there still is no chat. That person may come an hour or two later, but if by that time, I had to leave my PC, then again there is not chat.
So unless 2 parties agree on a premeditated time, then how does it work? Hope for good luck? Sorry maybe asking the wrong question, but I got curious....