Slacknet IRC Network has existed, on and off, for about 10 years. It came about around the year 2000 as a small network of friends. It slowly grow over the next few years into a modestly sized network of about 26 - 30 servers. However in late 2002 the network split in half over the issue of services.
One side did not want services (MusIRC) and the other side did (which is who we are), and unfortunately because the majority of servers went with the other network, much of the users did too. After that for the next few years the users on the network began dropping off, primarily due to the network centering around the owner and her friends.
In 2007 the network began to grow again with the addition of some new communities such as #libelldra, however it wasn't until the network was absorbed into The Umbrella Group's broader network "The Hive" that more communities began to join.
Today Slacknet is still modest in size but growing at a steady rate. We'll see what happens next.