Only if the server has been boosted enough to allow for it. Boosts = paying money.
"And how does a 70K user IRC channel handle this?"
It doesn't, the client is usually programmed to notify upon specified trigger words or the user name, and handles that itself.
"I don't really think you can use a propriety feature of a single (obsolete) client to defend IRC."
I'm not defending IRC - I'm simply saying IRC did it first.
This just isn't true.
I'm on a server which has never been boosted and I can scroll back all the way to the server's creation with no limits.
Only if the server has been boosted enough to allow for it. Boosts = paying money.
"And how does a 70K user IRC channel handle this?"
It doesn't, the client is usually programmed to notify upon specified trigger words or the user name, and handles that itself.
"I don't really think you can use a propriety feature of a single (obsolete) client to defend IRC."
I'm not defending IRC - I'm simply saying IRC did it first.