XChat is different. XChat is free software (GPL), and the "official" windows code is a completely separate add-on with code that has never been released. The freely-available windows builds use different code, and as a result there is no licensing controversy whatsoever. It's a GPL'd derived work of a GPL'd project.
In fact, the author of XChat is likely violating the GPL by distributing the Windows version without full source code. Since he's accepted third-party patches under the GPL, he has to distribute all derived works under the GPL (or remove all the code that isn't his). This means that currently his closed-source Windows version is a GPL violation.
I know that if I had code in XChat, I would be upset by this.
In fact, the author of XChat is likely violating the GPL by distributing the Windows version without full source code. Since he's accepted third-party patches under the GPL, he has to distribute all derived works under the GPL (or remove all the code that isn't his). This means that currently his closed-source Windows version is a GPL violation.
I know that if I had code in XChat, I would be upset by this.