Is there an IRC client with a readable modern UI (like Discord)? reddit / irc ---------------------------------------------------------------------- FlameVisit99 路 2017-09-12 21:41 Hey there. I'm new to IRC. I'm currently using HexChat, but I feel like it's basically unreadable and I'm not actually participating in any discussions purely because of the user interface. All of the messages are packed together in a giant wall of text. There's no spacing between separate messages, no differentiation between messages through something like a background colour, etc. I can appreciate that other people might not find this to be a problem, and might even like the compact space-saving design... But to me it's just unreadable, and I don't see any settings that would affect it enough. Is there an IRC client that can just give me a readable, modern UI like Discord has? Thanks. Edit: I should add some more details... I don't want a web client, and I want something ideally that would work on both Windows and Linux... although I'd be open to Windows-only or Linux-only suggestions. FLOSS preferred. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- yunocchi 路 2017-09-12 21:44 [IRCCloud](https://www.irccloud.com) is probably your best option if you're looking for something similar to Discord in terms of appearance, otherwise, you're pretty much out of luck on Desktop platforms. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- AltReality 路 2017-09-12 23:16 I'm pretty sure hexchat is fully customizable....as is mIRC...although mIRC is technically not free, and while not linux native, it runs in wine with no trouble. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- FluSolverson 路 2017-09-12 23:31 Irssi is the most modern one I've used 馃榿 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- FlameVisit99 路 2017-09-12 23:49 Could you explain to me how I'm supposed to customise HexChat then, please? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- svn 路 2017-09-13 00:32 Maybe IRC is not the thing for you... If you can't read HexChat I suggest you increase the font size or something... I simply don't understand what you find unreadable about a few lines of text. Ever tried reading a book? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ExBritNStuff 路 2017-09-13 02:11 I kind of understand what you mean about a hard to read wall of text. I have screwy eyes and a dyslexia condition that can make reading and, more importantly, understanding closely packed text only output problematic. It is especially problematic when using some generic terminal font, and a poorly thought out color scheme. I don't use Discord, but I do use Slack, and I think it is the same kind of a thing. Larger text, better spacing between individual messages, and an icon to identify which user is responsible for a given message. That being said, my IRC client of choice is IRSSI running via mosh/screen on a remote server, which I spend my entire work switching into. As I'm sure you've seen, it is definitely not a pretty interface. The way I made it work for me was; * Increase the font size in my terminal client so I'm not straining at 8 pt text * Use a more readable, true type front in my terminal client. Open- dyslexic Mono works for me, but just Google something like 'best terminal font programming' and go through all the ones suggested to find the one you can read best. Inconsolata is another favorite that doesn't have the dyslexia specific letter shaping * Change the color scheme of irssi so it's easier for me to read. For me that means a black background and white message text. For you it might be something different. Poke around https://irssi- import.github.io/themes/ and try them all out. Once you've got something that mostly works for you, manually modify until it's perfect. Trial and error is the key * Make sure each user in a channel has their own unique color for their name. For me this is easy because the highest user count in any channel I partake in is six. If you're in #ubuntu on Freenode, this will be a bit harder! I use the script here - https://scripts.irssi.org/scripts/nickcolor.pl to give everyone there own color automagically ---------------------------------------------------------------------- AltReality 路 2017-09-13 03:34 I've never used Hexchat but I've read that it is very customizable. I would say change up colors on the theme and maybe change the font...see if there's a setting to double-space chat...although it seems to me that would make it very difficult to keep track of a conversation because it would scroll off the top of the screen too quickly. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- pengo 路 2017-09-13 03:42 Give it another 20 years and there will be one for sure. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Fastolph 路 2017-09-13 13:45 I think Konversation had plans for a newer, more readable UI? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- FlameVisit99 路 2017-09-13 15:04 The problem is the lack of spacing. Everything is packed together in a wall of text. Books separate out paragraphs which makes things more readable. Imagine if books didn't do that, and the entire book was essentially one enormous paragraph! That's what IRC is like for me currently. But it's not really a reasonable comparison anyway. I want to be able to more easily identify and differentiate between different messages, and especially messages from different users. That concept doesn't exist with books. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- FlameVisit99 路 2017-09-13 15:05 Thanks, I looked into this and the new Konversation 2 interface looks great. Unfortunately it seems like it won't be released until 2018. :( ---------------------------------------------------------------------- FlameVisit99 路 2017-09-13 15:06 > although it seems to me that would make it very difficult to keep track of a conversation because it would scroll off the top of the screen too quickly. Well, the IRC channels that I'm trying to use aren't ridiculously active like that and full of people chatting non-stop, so that wouldn't be a concern for me. > see if there's a setting to double-space chat... Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like there is an option for this... or at least, I'm not seeing it. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- FlameVisit99 路 2017-09-13 15:08 Thanks a lot for your detailed reply. That sounds like a bit of work to set up, but I'll dig in and see what I can do. Thanks. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- svn 路 2017-09-13 16:13 HexChat shows a different colour for every user nick... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Jigoku1337 路 2017-09-18 19:20 I was just about to post this, here's the link to previews of it for anyone else interested https://blogs.kde.org/2017/09/05/konversation-2x-2018-new-user- interface-matrix-support-mobile-version ---------------------------------------------------------------------- druppel_ 路 2017-11-24 14:12 There's Metro IRC, but it doesn't have a lot of options and doesn't really get updated as far as I know. Still the best looking.