In observation both personal (with friends and family) and as a long-time op for #irchelp -- in helping and tying to convince people to install mIRC as opposed to a web-client or ChatZilla or HexChat -- I've encountered that it's really really difficult explaining to users how to configure mIRC, let alone having them set it up without assistance.
I'll try to abbreviate this post with a series of points.
- mIRC has no "Setup Wizard" or "Quick Start".
- A multitude of mIRC's default settings are non-optimal or obnoxious.
- Menus, settings and features that have been added over the years are unorganized... scattered hodge-podge in inconvenient and inconsistent layouts.
- It requires someone with utmost patience, time, and experience to navigate as many as 7 different (completely strewn apart from one another) locations of settings that belong together on the same screen.
- 4 out of 5 users I've helped in 2013 would rather use HexChat because it's easier. 1 out of 5 rave that mIRC is capable of so much more, but admit that it requires a frontal lobotomy to figure out.
In attempt to update the mIRC Client page on irchelp.org, I repeatedly find myself in the sticky situation of trying to explain and apologize for mIRC's quarks specifically when it comes to getting a first-time-user up and running.
In fact, it's so difficult to explain where a specific setting is, such as changing the font face/size, that even screen shots don't convey enough information to get the user the information they need.
I Love mIRC, especially its quirky scripting language,
but I loath mIRC, especially its quirky settings UI(s).
Let me know if you want some guidance on streamlining mIRC's layout.
