Before E2EE was used in IM clients, IRC already had IRC over TLS, and also OTR (which was also used in Gaim/Pidgin).
On IRC, IRC over TLS doesn't have the same threat model as E2EE. With IRC over TLS, the server(s) can read the data plaintext. With proper E2EE (not the marketing version) that's not the case; only clients can read the data. I'm talking about actual data/content here; not metadata.
On IRC, IRC over TLS doesn't have the same threat model as E2EE. With IRC over TLS, the server(s) can read the data plaintext. With proper E2EE (not the marketing version) that's not the case; only clients can read the data. I'm talking about actual data/content here; not metadata.