I haven't read this entire topic but does it pretty much revolve around having a central in-game 'chat client' for AI War players?
The original idea was to add matchmaking to the game, which was shot down by logical voices. The prevailing thought now is the vote on whether or not to add an in-game IRC function.
I, for one, am in favor of it, and voted so on Mantis. Honestly I hadn't really cared until I tried out the Star Ruler demo, and while that game definitely needs a lot more work to be a "must-buy" for me, I definitely fell in love with the in-game IRC. I didn't participate much in it, but I saw people chatting and joining games, the developers were friendly and chatted with the players, helping them out. I really enjoyed it, and thought it would be a tremendous addition to AI War.