"Being shiny and sparkly won't make mIRC work better as an IRC "client."
it's working good already.now it's time to change visual.
"The visual appearance of things that are around the chat windows doesn't make the words magically dance around on the screen. "
it's not for dancing words, it's just for seeing more beautifull things.
"As for the actual chat itself, that is determined by the IRC protocol, so Khaled can't just add new 'features' to the protocol."
who can then?
"I'm not sure what shiny things you think should be added.. maybe you can give some more specific suggestions to convince everyone here. mIRC already automatically blends in with the current windows styling. Making it MORE shiny than windows itself would just make it look tacky"
seeing some 16 million colored icon instead of @ forexample. a smiley icon for

etc...
"Kind of like putting 26inch spinners on your Honda Civic.. it would look rediculous and out of place. And that is all on top of the point that was already made. Adding more fancy (yet completely useless) styling would cause mIRC to become a resource hog like many other shiny programs that are out there."
computers are enought to handle that. And you can just disable new interface like in winamp.
"Maybe you would be happier with another, shinier program."
no mirc is best, nobody can make better. khaled is best in this.
"Or, better yet.. put your money where your mouth is and create your own IRC client with the exact shininess you are searching for."
i'm not a software developer. sorry i don't know how to create software, can't do that. and that's not my job.
"But then again, if you are only searching for shininess, maybe it's not a new IRC client that you really want.. maybe you really want something else shiny, like a set of keys or a fishing lure. Keep in mind that in the end, no one is forcing you to use 'unshiny' mIRC."
there's no alternative to mirc, i tried almost all other irc clients but no, only mirc is usefull.