Microsoft just open-sourced its 1996 IRC comic-strip-like client

Microsoft has officially released the original C++ source code for Comic Chat, its 1996 Internet Relay Chat client, under the MIT license on GitHub. The repository includes both the historical code and a modernized build updated for high-resolution displays.

Apps like slack and discord were modeled after irc. The basic structure of channels, direct messages, and server administrators all stems from that early protocol. Back in the 1990s, however, Microsoft decided the standard scrolling walls of text needed a visual overhaul. According to OSNews, the company shipped Comic Chat as part of Internet Explorer 3.0. Instead of just displaying usernames and timestamps, the application rendered conversations as dynamically generated comic strips.

An expert system from 1996

The client assigned cartoon avatars to users. An expert system analyzed the text in real time to determine character placement, gestures, facial expressions, and speech bubble shapes. Microsoft Researcher David Kurlander developed the algorithms powering the layout engine. He even published a paper on the project at the SIGGRAPH computer graphics conference in 1996. The system looked for emotional cues in the text to change a character's expression, or mapped specific keystrokes to manual emotion overrides.

Alternative comic artist Jim Woodring created the original character designs. The default cast included a diverse set of bizarre figures, ranging from a standard businessman to a strange alien creature. Users could select their avatar before joining a channel. The software then composed the panels dynamically, placing characters in the foreground or background depending on who was speaking.

Blame this for Comic Sans

The most lasting cultural impact of this software is that it popularized Comic Sans. Microsoft typographer Vincent Connare originally designed the font in 1994 for the digital assistant Microsoft Bob. The typeface was eventually integrated into Comic Chat to match the hand-lettered aesthetic of Woodring's comic panels.

When Microsoft bundled the chat client with Windows 98 and MSN, the font spread globally. It became the default choice for bake sale flyers, passive-aggressive office memos, and amateur web design. The font is still widely debated today, but its integration into this chat client is what pushed it onto millions of hard drives.

Running it on modern hardware

The GitHub repository drops just ahead of the software's 30th anniversary. Microsoft's Scott Hanselman and Robert Standefer spearheaded the preservation effort with support from Kurlander. The release allows developers to study the original architecture and compile the code themselves.

The updated modern version scales the comic panels for larger displays. Running the original 1996 executable on a 4K monitor results in a tiny, unreadable window. The new build fixes the scaling issues and updates the network stack to connect to modern IRC servers. The developers also launched a companion website built to mimic 1990s web design trends, complete with tiled backgrounds and basic HTML frames.

The MIT license means anyone can fork the code and build their own clients. I am curious to see if anyone attempts to hook the old expert system into modern chat protocols.