colored_nicks.js

var NickList = function () {
  this.nicks = [];
  this.colorMap = {};
  this.colors = [
    '#ff00ff',
    '#00007f',
    '#009300',
    '#ff0000',
    '#7f0000',
    '#9c009c',
    '#fc7f00',
    '#7f7f7f',
    '#ffffff'
  ];
};

NickList.prototype.colorFor = function (nick) {
  var color = this.colorMap[nick]; // keep a cache
  if (color) return color;

  var hash = 0;
  for (var i = 0; i < nick.length; i++) {
    var ch = nick.charCodeAt(i);
    hash = ((hash << 5) - hash) + ch;
    hash = hash & hash; // Convert to 32bit integer
  }
  return (this.colorMap[nick] = this.colors[Math.abs(hash) % this.colors.length]);
};