Others have suggested the same things you did (use the search feature here, set to all forums and all dates).
"I don't know what needs to be done to get a new feature in a version..."
Khaled is the only software developer for mIRC, and the decision on what features to add/not add/work on/when is his. No, a petition isnt necessary. Khaled reads these forums, and all the emails he gets. Reading the versions text for any release shows that he takes user input into consideration. While he does occasionally mention here something he is fixing for next version or working on, in general he doesnt publicize his future plans.
