I just haven't really found a decent IRC app, tbh. I mean, I use them fine for my developer-ey needs, but pretty much the only reason that these proprietary app

I just haven't really found a decent IRC app, tbh. I mean, I use them fine for my developer-ey needs, but pretty much the only reason that these proprietary apps exist is because the UX is kinda crappy on IRC. No one wants to constantly troubleshoot dumb stuff for the business person or the designer on the team, so, Hipchat. I think you could limit some functionality and sand the rough edges off of IRC, like Popcorn Time does for movie torrents, and have something pretty sweet.