no reason to change that, as other clients only try to connect to 8333, afaict. IRC only advertises IP, right?
No, both IP and port are encoded in the #bitcoin IRC usernames (see the EncodeAddress/DecodeAddress routines in irc.cpp).
(so mizerydearia: no need to do what you done did...)
Mm... On a slightly unrelated issue. Since it is possible to detect majority of all nodes in the p2p network by visiting the bootstrapping irc channel, it seems fairly easy to determine where exactly all the nodes are in case any attempt to disconnect Internet or seize hardwares ever occurs. Perhaps
another thread should be used to discuss this.