# microsoft/comic-chat

Source code for the Microsoft Comic Chat IRC client

Repository: https://github.com/microsoft/comic-chat
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/comic-chat
Homepage: https://microsoft.github.io/comic-chat/
Language: C++
License: MIT
License Family: permissive
Archived: true
Last push: 2026-07-22T19:10:27+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 10/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 93, release rhythm 60, longevity 8
- inputs: {"age_days": 124, "days_push": 42, "days_rel": 52, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 1}
- flags: prerelease_only, young, archived
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 1017, forks 137 (observed 2026-08-28T04:03:14.657672+00:00)

## What it is
Microsoft Comic Chat is a 1996 IRC client that rendered conversations as automatically generated comic strips with cartoon avatars, speech bubbles, and expert-system-driven panel layout. This repository is an archived snapshot of its C++ source code, not actively maintained, with unofficial modern builds available.

## Use cases
- chat on IRC with conversations rendered as comic strips
- study the source code of a classic 1990s Microsoft application
- build Comic Chat from source with Visual Studio 2022
- run a retro IRC client on modern high-resolution monitors
- explore how an expert system laid out comic panels in real time

## When to choose
- you want a nostalgic, graphical comic-strip IRC experience
- you are researching retro Windows application architecture or expert systems
- you want to tinker with or modernize a piece of Microsoft history

## When to avoid
- you need a maintained, secure IRC client for daily use
- you need cross-platform support beyond Windows
- you expect bug fixes, updates, or official support

## Facets
- artifact type: application
- maturity: abandoned
- function: chatbot, gui, graphics
- domain: messaging-platforms, entertainment, developer-tools
- platform: windows, cpp
- tags: irc-client, comic-strips, retro-software, source-archive, 1990s, expert-system, nostalgia

## Member repositories
- microsoft/comic-chat (main) score 10

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:03:14.657672+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-30T07:11:14.457119+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/microsoft/comic-chat (fetched 2026-08-28T04:03:14.657672+00:00, sha 58818ed3b547)
  - homepage: https://microsoft.github.io/comic-chat/ (fetched 2026-08-29T13:10:02.028600+00:00, sha 9e2f826da6c0)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.