It would be good to secure the platform for the future, as encryption has become much more 'inexpensive' these days. perhaps an secured IRC interface would be useful to chat out of band. Just some things to consider about security, being the main point.
It's your data, Protect it.
Use a Mask, Use TOR!
https://newsletter.torproject.org/archive/2020-10-29-use-a-mask-use-tor/text/