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mIRC

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mIRC
Developer(s)mIRC Co. Ltd. (Khaled Mardam-Bey)
Stable release
Operating systemMicrosoft Windows
TypeIRC client
LicenseProprietary
WebsitemIRC Website

mIRC is a shareware Internet Relay Chat client for Windows, created in 1995 and developed by Khaled Mardam-Bey. Although it is a fully functional chat utility, its integrated scripting language makes it extensible and versatile.

mIRC is very popular, having been downloaded almost nine million times from CNET's download.com service as of June 2007[1]. Nielsen Net Rankings also ranked mIRC among the top 10 most popular Internet applications in 2003. Because of its popularity, some users mistakenly conflate the mIRC client with the IRC protocol, thinking they are connecting to a "mIRC server" or joining a "mIRC channel"[citation needed].

It is unknown if the "m" in mIRC stands for anything—Khaled's personal FAQ explains that "it quite possibly stands for 'moo', or perhaps even MU."[2]

Main features

mIRC has a number of features that set it apart from other IRC clients. One of the more obvious differences is its own advanced scripting language (see below) which is further developed with each version. The scripting language can be used to make minor changes to the program like custom commands (aliases), but can also be used to completely alter the behaviour and appearance of mIRC.

Another widely used feature is mIRC's file sharing abilities, via the DCC protocol. However this is rather crude and those who use mIRC for downloading warez will often use specialised scripts which simplify the use of XDCC bots and file sharing in general. Such usage of mIRC is often frowned upon by those who wish it to be used as a chat client. It also has a built in file server. For example some scripting websites will not accept mass file sharing scripts and the official mIRC message board does not offer support for it.[1]

Over the years various other features that have often been suggested by users have been incorporated. This includes support for multiple server connections, SSL, UTF-8 display support and an option to view channels and notify lists in a treebar format rather than the default switchbar. mIRC is still in active development but it is very rarely announced what features will be introduced in the future.

mIRC scripting

Main article: mIRC Scripting Language

With mIRC Scripting, sometimes referred to as mSL, one can cause a client to process certain tasks in response to specific events.

mIRC scripting is not limited to IRC related events and commands. There is also support for COM objects, calling DLLs, sockets and dialog boxes, amongst other things. This allows the client to be used in a variety of ways beyond chatting, for example as an IRC bot, a media player, a web HTML parser or for other entertainment purposes such as mIRC games. In practice however mIRC will not be used solely for such specific purposes, but rather they are addons for the client, which will otherwise be used for chatting.

Due to the level of access the language has with a user's computer, for example, being able to rename and delete files, a number of abusive scripts have been made. Perhaps one of the more prominent examples of abuse was that executed with the $decode identifier which decodes a given encoded string. Many users who did not understand this were misguided into decoding strings which executed commands on their systems, such messages were disguised as a fake promise of ops in an IRC channel. However, this led to changes being made in version 6.17 so $decode is now disabled by default and various other features which can be considered 'dangerous' are able to be locked.

Slap! function

A famous feature associated with mIRC (even though it predates the client by some time) is the ability to "slap" another user by right-clicking the target's nickname. This results in the line of text "X slaps Y around a bit with a large trout" where X is the person performing the action and Y is the nickname of the selected target. The use of "a large trout" is thought to be a reference to Monty Python's sketch The Fish-Slapping Dance[citation needed]. The "slap" has no function beyond the message itself, which is merely an execution of the /action command in mIRC. Users can add their own actions using the /action command or remove the pre-existing slap action by editing mIRC's default script.

Easter Eggs

  • Clicking Khaled's nose in the About dialog produces a squeaky sound. Clicking anywhere else in the picture will open the Khaled's mIRC webpage.
  • Typing /xyzzy will return the message "Nothing happens". This is a reference to Colossal Cave Adventure.
  • Typing "Arnie" with the About dialog opened will change Khaled's image into a picture of mIRC's mascot[3].
  • Right clicking anywhere in the About dialog will create a bouncing pixel above the "I" in the "mIRC" text.
  • Left clicking the mIRC logo in the About dialog will change it back to the older mIRC logo.
  • Right clicking the About icon in the toolbar will create a smiley face inside it.

Criticism

As aforementioned mIRC's powerful scripting language allows for people to dupe naive users into running malicious commands on their systems. Such malicious commands could have such benign effects as sending a message automatically when people join IRC channels you're in, or as serious as stealing passwords, spying on your IRC chat sessions, or deleting files on your computer. However, in response to such abuse, some harmful features are locked by default as of version 6.17.

mIRC and its author also drew criticism due to the implementation of mIRC-style text decorations and colors which do not comply with the IRC standard. Therefore, other IRC clients require special parsing and treatment of such messages to avoid their clients displaying garbage characters infringing upon readability. In addition, the IRC color format is ambiguous and follows no common standard, which is a severe drawback for other coders trying to implement the system[4].

Despite the increasing popularity of IPv6, mIRC continues to not support it. As with almost all other requested features there has been no comment from Khaled on whether this will be implemented in the future, however, indepth discussions on the issue are available on the mIRC message board.[2]

mIRC has also drawn criticism from some users who think it looks outdated. Discussions on the issue are often divided between those who think mIRC should comply with a more modern, XP standard, and those who think the client looks fine as it is and that it serves its purpose.[3] [4]

References

  1. ^ "mIRC". Download.com. Retrieved 2007-06-17.
  2. ^ "Khaled's Nutshell". Retrieved 2007-04-16.
  3. ^ "Khaled's Nutshell". Retrieved 2007-04-16.
  4. ^ "Color FAQ". Retrieved 2007-04-16.

See also

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