On the old bgsuvax system, the clients that were compiled were geared toward newer IRC servers. As of now, the BGNet IRC server is very old and crusty. However, my client on alpha is set to accept the older-style server commands while still maintaining compatibility with the new style. The autoop command is very handy for writing a list of nicknames to op for your channel. It works much like the notify list.
Color is a bit more tricky for the moment.
Your terminal MUST BE SET to allow ANSI color codes. Then, change the default background color to black and the default foreground to white. This is currently broken and not on my EPIC list of things to do. My alpha EPIC client also allows you to change your user information. I have a lot of other information about IRC access from alpha, and it's better to ask me online about most topics.