

TapChat is mobile IRC done right - davepeck
http://codebutler.com/tapchat-is-mobile-irc-done-right

======
mandarkk
No it isn't.

\- The only way to stop receiving notifications is to uninstall the app, there
is no disconnect/detach option.

\- It doesn't have support for identd (necessary for old ZNC bouncers, and for
some bitlbee builds).

\- The UI is very young, not comfortable to use, no easy channel switchers,
etc.

\- No buddy/friends list.

\- Install fails in "supported' nodejs versions, almost works only on v.0.8.0

\- Complete lack of settings, including what I said about the most basic
thing, connecting/disconnecting.

I had a lot of hopes for this, I use IRC with a few servers and a personal IM
gateway (bitlbee), and for now I'm using AndChat which is a very good Android
client but the permanent connection makes the battery drain very fast.

After having trouble getting the server up (nodejs version and such), I had
trouble setting up the servers to connect to, as the settings for creating a
new server were different with those of editing the new server, and the
password was not even remembered when creating one, so I had to put it again
after creating it in the edit mode.

But still, no support for identd had me update ZNC and bitlbee to support only
server password with "user:pass".

After I finally got it up, for the first few minutes it was a dream,
notifications came very fast, the app was good looking. And then I tried
detaching from the server, no way to do that, after I kill the process,
notifications still came up, and after "logging off" from my server I would
still get them!!!! only way to stop was uninstalling the App.

Which I did. Hopefully I'll reinstall it when these problems get fixed.

~~~
EricButler
Hi again. We spoke about all this a few days ago. Sorry to hear you're
disappointed with the app.

\- The only way to stop receiving notifications is to uninstall the app, there
is no disconnect/detach option.

This is a reasonable request and is on my list.

\- It doesn't have support for identd (necessary for old ZNC bouncers, and for
some bitlbee builds).

As I mentioned, you don't need "identd" for ZNC. TapChat supports password-
protected servers and works just fine with ZNC.

\- The UI is very young, not comfortable to use, no easy channel switchers,
etc. \- No buddy/friends list.

\- Install fails in "supported' nodejs versions, almost works only on v.0.8.0

There was an issue with certain versions of nodejs, this has been fixed.

\- Complete lack of settings, including what I said about the most basic
thing, connecting/disconnecting.

You can connect/disconnect from IRC networks in Settings > Manage IRC
Networks.

------
Xuzz
This has been supported with Colloquy on iOS for years — even using ZNC as the
bouncer with the Colloquy plugin. I'm glad there's now a solution for Android
that looks like it might be approaching the same awesomeness level!

More info: <http://colloquy.info/project/wiki/PushNotifications>

------
spindritf
I use irssi on the server with Irssi ConnectBot
[https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.woltage.ir...](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.woltage.irssiconnectbot)
and Hacker's Keyboard
[https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.pocketwork...](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.pocketworkstation.pckeyboard)
. Why is SSHing from a phone no fun? Honest question, what am I missing out
on?

~~~
EricButler
Hi! I'm the author of TapChat.

Scrolling and switching between windows is quite slow and unpleasant with
Irssi+Screen+ConnectBot on a phone. TapChat has a native UI and is much more
responsive regardless of your connection quality. It also sends push
notifications to your phone when someone mentions or messages you.

~~~
lzm
There's an app called "Irssi ConnectBot" that adds support for scrolling and
switching windows with touch gestures.

~~~
spindritf
I actually linked to it but didn't write the full name, fixed.

------
sirn
I don't know about its Node.JS implementation, but I think TapChat works great
as a lightweight client to IRCCloud[1] (which is kind of like a bouncer on its
own and don't have much option to configure to begin with). It simply Just
Works™.

Some customization and a little bit of visual improvement for message would be
welcome, though. Especially colors, I understand they want to keep it
monochrome-ish, but trying to find message burying with joins/leaves is not
really fun since everything looked the same. I wish it has IRCCloud-like
join/leave grouping.

[1]: <https://irccloud.com/>

------
tallowen
I would pay for this if I could use my own ZNC bouncer.

~~~
tdavis
That was my immediate reaction, too. Though it sounds like the node.js server
is doing more than your standard bouncer; ZNC support seems unlikely.

~~~
EricButler
Hi, I'm the author of TapChat.

I recommend connecting the TapChat server to ZNC, this works quite well.

------
zschallz
Something I've wanted to build someday but never did is exactly this but for
xmpp, etc. I'd love to have a central place with my chat logs, etc.

Someone go build it, please!

------
a3_nm
I'm curious about why you need a specific bouncer for this. I can't see any
doc about what it does that usual bouncers don't do (except for "[existing
bouncers] have many limitations such as not being able to sync private
conversations across all of your devices", which I don't get: the bip bouncer
which I use syncs private conversations in a very reasonable way).

------
tomflack
I sent you an email and this is just me being impatient but.. unavailable in
the android market for Chinese users?

~~~
EricButler
Hey, I just replied to your email. Paid apps are not currently available in
China, it seems. You should be able to purchase the app from the web through a
VPN or proxy and have it pushed to your phone.
[https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.tapchatapp...](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.tapchatapp.android)

~~~
tomflack
Ah I didn't realize! This would also explain a lot of other things. Thanks!

------
tobylane
Is this (irc bouncer) the sort of thing that should work with Jabber? Keep the
parts interchangeable?

~~~
EricButler
Hi, I'm the author of TapChat.

There are very few things about the protocol that are IRC-specific, so this
could likely be added in the future. In the meantime, I've had success using
Jabber in TapChat via Bitlbee.

------
Xyzodiac
I'm so glad there's finally a good option for Android users!

