> Unfortunately, no workable solution for mobile connections has been found yet.
I've come to the conclusion that trying to get the irc protocol to handle this is a dead end. A better solution would be to make the server handle multiple protocols. I'm using quassel for over a year now, and it makes irc usable from mobile. It does so by being split into a core and a GUI, so basically like a bouncer, but the protocol between them is designed from scratch, to handle connection drops and even connecting with multiple quassel clients to a single core while syncing up everything properly.
Now the big question would be if it were feasible to support the quassel protocol directly on the irc server, in parallel to irc. This way the hardcore irc fans can keep using it the way they always did, while at the same time making it easy for the kids these days to get started, by not having to set up a quassel core somewhere first. Just grab the app and go.
I've been extremely happy with The Lounge (https://thelounge.chat/) as a modern, web-based IRC client. It's successfully replaced a decade of ZNC and WeeChat acting as bouncers for irssi, Textual, and X-Chat.
- It's a PWA, so I can add it to my homescreen on Android just like any other native app (and I find the UX better than most native Android IRC clients).
- It supports Web Push notifications, so I find out when I've been mentioned, even without the client running locally.
- It remembers and restores state across restarts.
...and it turns out that's basically all I wanted. I wonder if the network hosting its own instance of such a capable client would be enough for new users to get going?
>...and it turns out that's basically all I wanted. I wonder if the network hosting its own instance of such a capable client would be enough for new users to get going?
This is what we do on EsperNet (https://webchat.esper.net/), for what it's worth - using a forked version of The Lounge with some minor changes. It works reasonably well, but we do have to run it in public mode which limits some of the advantages (e.g. the bouncer-like behaviour).
With that said, it's a well made application and is a big improvement upon CGI:IRC and Iris. xPaw and astorije are great, too.
I've been running irssi in a screen for 15 years or so, and ircII before that. I won't say it's great UX on a phone through something like JuiceSSH or Termius, but I've been accepting it as I always want/need access to my terminal on the go regardless. I might give quassel a try though, thanks!
I personally use weechat and weechat-android (https://github.com/ubergeek42/weechat-android) and it's the best Android client I've tried. It does require some technical set-up, though.
You can plug Glowing Bear into it too, if you want a web interface.
I've come to the conclusion that trying to get the irc protocol to handle this is a dead end. A better solution would be to make the server handle multiple protocols. I'm using quassel for over a year now, and it makes irc usable from mobile. It does so by being split into a core and a GUI, so basically like a bouncer, but the protocol between them is designed from scratch, to handle connection drops and even connecting with multiple quassel clients to a single core while syncing up everything properly.
Now the big question would be if it were feasible to support the quassel protocol directly on the irc server, in parallel to irc. This way the hardcore irc fans can keep using it the way they always did, while at the same time making it easy for the kids these days to get started, by not having to set up a quassel core somewhere first. Just grab the app and go.