I haven't used IRC in ages, but when I did I enjoyed hexchat.
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Googling 'irc client' is always a "blast to the past" adventure
What IRC chancels would you recommended?
The Lounge is a great IRC webclient with built-in bouncer functionality.
Goguma is pretty great on Android, but either needs to connect to a modern IRC network or use a IRCv3 capable bouncer like Soju.
I was hesitant to use thelounge because of the self-hosting part, but it seems is fairly straightforward to spin up an instance even with just free fly.io resources
That's actually a good idea. Maybe share a quick guide on how to set this up when you got it working.
The Lounge is a great IRC webclient with built-in bouncer functionality.
Seconding The Lounge. It's a great self-hosted option.
I'm a KDE fan so I started using Konversation after migrating from Windows with Hexchat. And like it! Has all the bells and whistles I need.
Doesn't Cinny work with IRC too through the Matrix bridges?
It does, but the matrix bridge can be a bit unstable, and I wanted a native experience anyway :P
I used Irccloud for years, it was really nice. Does it still exist? There's an IRC chat too in sourcehut.
I'm using it atm, but it really feels like there should be sth more, well, FOSSy
Weechat, irssi or BitchX with tmux or screen? Not GUI, but that's the classic IRC experience.
I did give irssi a spin but it seems Cinny has spoiled me 😅
I know what you mean. I used irssi since the 90's, but nowadays it's Cinny/Element/Beeper for everything...