Microsoft Comic Chat
The most recommended of 4 IRC clients
A nostalgic 1990s IRC client that shows chat as comic panels, now open source; people recommend it for the memories. Critics say it annoyed other IRC users.
A nostalgic 1990s IRC client that shows chat as comic panels, now open source; people recommend it for the memories. Critics say it annoyed other IRC users.
31 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 22
- criticize it
- 9
- approval share
- 71%
Recommended in 2 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 22 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 2.4 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 2 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Nostalgia for 90s IRC
“it was my first IRC client. Didn't fully get what IRC was yet. It felt like a new world opening up.”
Comment from 16 Jul 2026 in “Microsoft Comic Chat is now open source” “I was fascinated by this as a young teenager. I still love it”
Comment from 17 Jul 2026 in “Microsoft Comic Chat is now open source” “countless good memories when dial up was still a thing”
Comment from 16 Jul 2026 in “Microsoft Comic Chat is now open source” - Comment from 20 Jul 2026 in “Microsoft Comic Chat is now open source”
- Comment from 16 Jul 2026 in “Microsoft Comic Chat is now open source”
- Comment from 15 May 2026 in “Porting 3D Movie Maker to Linux”
- Comment from 16 Jul 2026 in “Microsoft Comic Chat is now open source”
Open-source release and web port
“Thank you to the original developers, and to the current team at Microsoft that made this release possible!”
Comment from 16 Jul 2026 in “Microsoft Comic Chat is now open source” “Love to see some software that thought way out of the box and got institutional support.”
Comment from 16 Jul 2026 in “Microsoft Comic Chat is now open source” “I still think this project has potential.”
Comment from 16 Jul 2026 in “Microsoft Comic Chat is now open source” - Comment from 17 Jul 2026 in “Microsoft Comic Chat is now open source”
Fun, creative idea
“Love to see some software that thought way out of the box and got institutional support.”
Comment from 16 Jul 2026 in “Microsoft Comic Chat is now open source” “That’s hilarious. I hope to see some fun spinoffs.”
Comment from 16 Jul 2026 in “Microsoft Comic Chat is now open source” “Someone at MS made a fun IRC client. Thats it.”
Comment from 17 Jul 2026 in “Microsoft Comic Chat is now open source”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Embrace, extend, extinguish IRC protocol
“However it's kind of weird that you choose this very explicit 1996 Embrace, extend, and extinguish piece of software to showcase.”
Comment from 16 Jul 2026 in “Microsoft Comic Chat is now open source” “they managed to Embrace&Extend the IRC protocol in a way that was annoying to anyone not using Comic Chat”
Comment from 16 Jul 2026 in “Microsoft Comic Chat is now open source” “They extended the open IRC protocol with proprietary extensions hidden inside CTCP”
Comment from 17 Jul 2026 in “Microsoft Comic Chat is now open source” - Comment from 17 Jul 2026 in “Microsoft Comic Chat is now open source”
Annoying to other IRC users
“Comic chat was a phenomenal pain in the arse in the 90s for any IRC channel”
Comment from 17 Jul 2026 in “Microsoft Comic Chat is now open source” “I remember being hated when I joined chat rooms with it, even though I never changed any setting.”
Comment from 16 Jul 2026 in “Microsoft Comic Chat is now open source” “I always set up an automatic kick when one of these messages was sent anywhere on the servers”
Comment from 16 Jul 2026 in “Microsoft Comic Chat is now open source” - Comment from 15 May 2026 in “Porting 3D Movie Maker to Linux”
- Comment from 16 Jul 2026 in “Microsoft Comic Chat is now open source”
Other IRC clients people recommend
The three most recommended other IRC clients, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Comic ChatThis page | 22 | 9 | 71% | 2 | — | — |
| mIRC | 12 | 1 | 92% | 5 | 30 yrs3 owners | Approved |
| Irssi | 5 | 2 | 71% | 5 | — | — |
| Goguma IRC client | 5 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
What people said
26 of the 31 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“This really brought some nostalgic tears in my eyes.”
“this very explicit 1996 Embrace, extend, and extinguish piece of software”
“Great idea. Got it running on the web.”
“Comic chat was a phenomenal pain in the arse in the 90s for any IRC channel”
“Still better chat experience than MS Teams”
“They extended the open IRC protocol with proprietary extensions hidden inside CTCP”
“Someone at MS made a fun IRC client. Thats it.”
“I was fascinated by this as a young teenager. I still love it”
“Luckily someone gently nudged me toward a real IRC client”
“Love to see some software that thought way out of the box and got institutional support.”
“I specifically did not do what Microsoft did and send the metadata through the public channel”
“However it's kind of weird that you choose this very explicit 1996 Embrace, extend, and extinguish piece of software to showcase.”
“I spent so much time with Comic Chat and V-Chat.”
“The verdana font and virtually every element is misaligned in some way”
“it was my first IRC client. Didn't fully get what IRC was yet. It felt like a new world opening up.”
“I always set up an automatic kick when one of these messages was sent anywhere on the servers”
“they managed to Embrace&Extend the IRC protocol in a way that was annoying to anyone not using Comic Chat”
“Thank you to the original developers, and to the current team at Microsoft that made this release possible!”
“countless good memories when dial up was still a thing”
“I remember being hated when I joined chat rooms with it, even though I never changed any setting.”
“read like spammy noise to everyone else”
“It opened a whole new world.”
“That’s hilarious. I hope to see some fun spinoffs.”
“I still think this project has potential.”
“I liked printing stupid comics”
“Man, that client was the bane of any IRC Chan-op's existence when it came out.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.