where did VG get the software? and how did they host it on their site?
The software was UnrealIRCd and can be found at
http://www.unrealircd.com/. I also used the Anope IRC services, available at
http://www.anope.org/. Hosting it required compiling and building the software and configuring it and a server to put it on.
When will you bring chat back?
I miss the irc chat.
IRC isn't coming back. There's currently a Skype chat and we're thinking about replacing that with Discord given a little more testing but that's not ready for the public yet.
why do you guys hate irc so much?
Because IRC is old, outdated, and easily exploitable technology when there are better options out there?
(Maybe?)
We don't, actually. But it was a ton of effort to set up, difficult to integrate, and ultimately pointless because it was never used. Simpler options (both from a management standpoint and also for the users) presented themselves with superior features and we moved on. I actually really like the concept of IRC but it's just not worth doing when it's only used for like two days and then dies.