Popular IRC client HexChat gets a final release, is no longer maintained
Popular IRC client HexChat gets a final release, is no longer maintained
IRC is sadly going away slowly. Which is a shame, it's a great protocol that is easy to implement and simple to work with. Biggest problem I see is its inability to embed images and other multimedia. Had that been the case protocol would live on I feel. We just needed few more channel modes, some that ban or allow specific multimedia and inline image support and we are good.
Some people, if not most who use IRC, would claim otherwise, but there's a reason why Slack became popular even though it's shitty electron application.
There are multiple IRC clients that render inline images just fine and also some very nice web clients that allow posting such images directly from the app.
The main problem of IRC is IMHO that the large networks refuse to implement most of the newer IRCv3 standards or alternatively provide multi-client bouncers to their users.
I like to think that the last sound ever to be heard on the internet will be someone getting slapped with a wet trout.
What a magical world irc was in the 90s when I was a gay closeted teenager talking to queers from all over the world. When you find your people for the first time. IRC will always hold a special place in my heart. I always keep an irc client on my install... for old time's sake.
👊🫂. That's the spirit!
Biggest problem I see is its inability to embed images and other multimedia.
That's one of its best features as far as I'm concerned, and one of the reasons I still use it every day.
I wonder if multiple IRC clients all agreed at the same time to extend the protocol by rendering markdown in the messages if that would help.
There's a "new" draft for version 3 being worked on but to be honest they are not addressing in my opinion the right features. Yay, we are going to get unicode nicknames? I think people are fine with what is there now. But not being able to paste code or images, now that's a real hindrance.
Thank you for all this time. I still use it today, along with pidgin.
Is there something good to replace it?
It doesn't need a replacement. IRC is amazing the way it is, and Hexchat is a perfect example of "a finished product".
I agree as far as the feature set is concerned, but software unfortunately doesn't exist in a vacuum.
A vulnerability could be discovered that needs a fix.
The operating system could change in such a way that eventually leads to the software not functioning on later versions.
The encryption algorithms supported by the server could be updated, rendering the client unable to connect.
It might be a really long time before any of that happens, but without a maintainer, that could be the end.
That can be true for self-contained command line tools, but not for complex programs with actively development dependencies (especially anything dealing with networking or encryption). For example hexchat uses GTK2 which is likely to be removed from mainstream distro repos in the coming years because it has been obsolete for a long time. Also openssl which is known to change its API occasionally which means that anything that uses it needs to be updated to stay compatible.
Maybe Matrix is the way forward.
It's more akin to XMPP rather than IRC. From what I've seen, a Matrix server would be more resource-heavy than an XMPP one. Synapse one would probably not run on my weak machine at all, and Dendrite/Conduit are not feature-complete. And the primary reason I still haven't been on Matrix is that I have very limited disk space on my VPS, and Matrix saves media from every chat its servers are on, and I still haven't figured out how to opt out of that.
Weechat is the only other irc client I recommend
How are it's xdcc capabilities?
Konversation
I enjoy XMPP with Gadjim client and Cheogram on Android.
Since then I don't miss IRC anymore
I like The Lounge
What a shame :(
Hopes the project lives on, one way or another.