irc

[Tim Chase]

On February 12, 2016, Jude DaShiell wrote:
> For the command line environment and speakup_ng used as a screen
> reader what is going to be the best irc client to install for
> accessibility and why?

Depends on what you're seeking.

Some such as "centerim", "irssi", "ircii", "ekg2", "finch" (the
text-mode version of gaim/pidgin), or "f-irc" have full-screen GUIs
(well, text UIs using curses) and all sorts of hot-keys to make using
them easier, but at the cost of possibly being less than friendly
with a screen-reader since they draw all over the screen.

On the other end of the spectrum, you have things like "tinyirc",
"sic", or "ii" which are way stripped down in terms of built-in
functionality, but are pure input/output and work great with a
terminal screen-reader.  While a bit strange, "ii" also works great
with other standard command-line utilities.

I'd be glad to experiment with any of them and report back if you
have any questions/issues.  I'm not a big IRC user, but can at least
test things out.

-tim