Microsoft Comic Chat is now open source
Points and comments are a snapshot, not live.
Microsoft open-sourced Comic Chat, its 1996 IRC client with comic-style chat.
Microsoft released the source code for Comic Chat, a 1996 IRC client that automatically turned conversations into comic panels with characters, speech bubbles, and expressions. It introduced Comic Sans to the world. The client, built by David Kurlander with art by Jim Woodring, interpreted conversational cues to choose poses and panel layouts. The open-source release includes the original source and AI-powered modernization attempts to build with current Visual Studio and connect to modern IRC servers.
The source is on GitHub under the MIT license.
What commenters are saying
Commenters expressed nostalgia and delight, with many noting Comic Chat was their introduction to IRC.
Some recalled that Comic Chat was reviled on IRC because it appended spammy noise strings to every message, readable only by other Comic Chat users. Others pointed out Microsoft ran its own IRC servers for the client. One commenter noted the creator DJ Kurlander retired from Microsoft 20+ years ago, while the blog author still works there. Several linked to related sites, including the comic Jerkcity and the creator's personal page.