IRC Clients and Word Highlighting

This Page is Incomplete

Everyone has their own preference when it comes to IRC clients. No one client can do everything, and although we'll do our best to guide you on what we think are the best of the best, we cannot promise you'll like everything we present.

We're not the first - nor the last - nor likely the best - source when it comes to the technical ins and outs of IRC clients. This page itself is only designed to give you a brief overview of base-level functions you'll use often as a Seal. Try out a few, and see what you like.

Clients

Fun tip: In general, you can type the first few characters of a name, then hit tab to autocomplete that user's name!

Windows

HexChat

Key Details

Price: Free
Platform: Windows, MacOS, Linux
Word Highlights: Yes
Website: https://hexchat.github.io

Configuration

To begin, download the latest release from HexChat's official website, using the link above. For Windows, we recommend the Windows 7+ 64bit Installer, NOT the Windows 10 Native App. (The Win7 Version is Free!) Install like any other program, and open. You'll be presented with a list of IRC Networks preconfigured by HexChat. (You can remove these later.)

To begin, click ADD on the right-hand side, type in the name of the new network (Something like "Seals" or "Hull Seals" and hit ENTER. It's recommended at this point you also hit "Favor" on the new network, and select the checkmark labeled "Show Favorites Only" to help manage your list.

Next, select your new network and hit the EDIT button. A new window will appear.

First, select the "ADD" button, and then type in our IRC Server Address, followed by the port. (irc.hullseals.space/+6697) Then, hit the ENTER button. Make sure that field saved! While recommended, it may not be required to have the + before +6697.

Next, ~~maake~~make sure your check-marked boxes look similar to this example - especially the SSL information, if you're using port 6697.You also MUST deselect "use global user information", to enable the fields below. Third, type in your IRC REGISTERED NICKNAME, with a second option if you wish.

Finally, in the USERNAME box, enter your Seal Website Username, and your Seal Website Password in the Password field. Also make sure the login method is set to SASL (username + password), and, if needed, set your Character Set to UTF-8.

Next, we'll set up AUTOJOIN CHANNELS. This will allow you to automatically join some channels at program launch, instead of needing to manually join each one.

Select "Autojoin Channels", right next to the Servers tab, and click the "Add" button. Then, type in the name of the channel (including the # sign), and hit ENTER. Repeat for as many channels as you want. We recommend #Seal-Bob and #Repair-Requests.

Click close, select the server, and then hit Connect as seen in the first image! You may get a popup about the SSL Certificate - go ahead and accept or trust the popup you get. This is normal on a first connect, or every once in a while.

Word Highlights

Once you're connected to a server, click on SETTINGS and then PREFERENCES. Under Chatting, select ALERTS. You'll see a screen like this:

Put any words you want to see highlighted in the box labeled "Extra words to highlight:" as unique words, seperated by spaces. DO NOT make the list comma-separated, or you'll get pinged every time a comma is used in chat.

Make sure "Make a beep sound on:" is checked under "Highlighted Message" up top, click OK, and you're set! HexChat will not notify you anytime any of those words are used.

AdiIRC