MBR is great. I'm not much of a casual talker, so I'm ending up just glancing at the chat while he streams. I'd probably get into IRC if I had someone whom I'd already know from elsewhere as an anchor (?). I don't have a great track record of internet acquaintance. Barely any record, to be honest. Every attempt at making a new pen-pal just falls flat, even without a non-native-language barrier. It feels artificial (probably mutually so) and so dies out after a few exchanges on random topics.
I've once half-assed an IRC server on my personal VPS. Been chatting for a few days with two friends until the novelty washed off and "our" IRC was left empty. I think it's still up, haven't bothered to check in the last few months.