Yes, the Custom Mapping Team now has an IRC channel on GameSurge! Though it's empty at the moment, you can all join up and discuss CMT and their works. If nobody's there, or active, just come on in and idle!

Our IRC channel is on GameSurge. Connect to irc.gamesurge.net on port 6667, and join #hcecmt.

Until we decide to get a web-based java client, I would recommend mIRC or Trillian Basic for an IRC client if you don't have one, though there are plenty more out there.