Growth for the community still *heavily* depends on threads here. That's a simple, undeniable fact.
IRC results in zero growth for the community. Zero.
There's my argument.
This is not an optional forum for you. It is not something you "try" to keep updated. What would stop you, by the way, other than laziness?
From Zero to Dickhead in 60 seconds.
Absolutely. Any "community manager" that wants to place less attention on the most important forum they have available to them deserves it.