Good IRC chat client....
 

I am looking for a good IRC chat client...preferably a free one. Right now I use Trillian, but I would prefer to use a different program for IRC. Anyone have any suggestions?

Take your pick:

- BitchX
- XChat
- mIRC
- Xircon (A great client but nolonger being developed)

I recommend XChat or mIRC. (see above post for links)

call me old fashioned but i like the old microsoft chat 2.5

mIRC is pretty standard for windows machines.

MS Chat is banned in my channels.

Depends on your OS. For Linux I think XIRC is pretty popular.

Windows: Klient
Linux: irssi irssi irssi irssi

If you use any linux client other than irssi, you are wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong.

irssi

How is better than BitchX? Isn't it based off the same code base? This is not a troll, I really would like to know. I've used both, and as far as I can tell, they are almost exactly the same.

Free - BersIRC
Not Free - mIRC

Klient is supposed to be OK too. NoT free. *must* be paid for.

assuming Windows OS...

Another vote for mIRC.

I can not say as I do not know, but I used BitchX for a long while (liked it). After a while I said to myself, I want this that and something else. And Irssi had exactly that. Give it a shot, you very well might like it. :D

irssi vs. BitchX

irssi is coded from scratch. It is not from the BitchX codebase. irssi has a much cleaner and more intuitive interface. BitchX was written with script-kiddies in mind, whilst irssi was designed more for veteran IRC users.

well if youre into gaming at all, i use a variation, (varied by myself) of this script, http://www.rupertonline.ca/hix/

mIRC is free... at least ive never paid anything for it?

mIRC is free, it just pops a page up asking for donations every so often when you start the program.

Thanks for the update. I just assumed there was a fork at some point, since they are so similar to use, and the look is the same.

xchat is great

http://www.xchat.org

BitchX is what I grew up on but I was never really a hardcore IRC guy either.

Nothing beats mIRC

I only started IRC a few months ago but have been pretty happy with Xchat. My suggestion would be to try a few of them and keep the one that best fits you.

I use Xchat for linux and mIRC for winblows

thanks for all the suggestions, I've tried mIRC and have just installed XChat...we'll see who comes out the winner.