Voice Chat To SL....

I was wondering if there are any plans in the works to add voice chat to SL? I used to be a part time deveoper for a system called Traveler! which is now Digitalspace.
Its a system like SL in the way of it uses Avtars but only heads however they also have voice and it works rather well. I would LOVE to see this come to SL and just want to know if there is plans for it.

Thanks!

There is at least one third party service that does Voice-in-SL.

I prefer to type. (:

I'm not too keen on voice chat. I know a lot of other people would love it, and I imagine this is the direction SL will take, but personally I think voice chat is pretty limiting. After all, now you would sound like you; no more pretending to be someone other than you (in particular, a different gender.) Plus, I think the pauses in the conversation would become more awkward. As it is right now, it doesn't really matter if there is a 30 second pause between when I ask a question and when the other person answers, since I just keep the History window open and can read back in the conversation. With voice chat, you pretty much need to be 100% present to be part of a conversation.

Could be a very cool option though. Like, you can open up a voice chat with someone just like IMing them.

Yep. Another reason I dislike voice chat. Although it comes in handing playing D&D/JadeClaw/Blue Planet over Yahoo, as it's faster, but there's no record of what went on. Even with Trillian, it's only the last 1 minute of audio or so (and Trillian can't currently do voice with YIM as YIM changed the protocol again)

While I'd probably have fun with a voice chat feature, the fact of the matter is it would ruin the SL experience for those who are roleplaying characters or playing other genders. Having the facilities for voice communication built right in would make their task of separating RL from SL much harder.

i voice chat with my hubbie in sl its easier to be able to talk since all the lag in sl now and cant type with out lag lol
an when were building an doing our shop my best friend also chit chat too then again im lazy !!! theres pros an cons to every thing

I think it's a good idea and it would be great if it was easy to do it. However, I wouldn't use it myself -- I'm usually in game when others in the house are asleep. Lots of other folks wouldn't use it for the reasons mentioned above, RL identity clues. But lots of folks would enjoy it, especially in certain professions, or in cases when we want faster info exchange than we can do via keyboard.

As with everything else at SL (other than griefers), it would only happen between willing participants.

So, pumpkin cookie, how do you do it -- just use an outside-SL chat program? It would be nice to provide in-game support (which would bring up a browser or prog, rather than working ingame). Just in-game to start it, without having to chat lots of details.

...if there's too much lag to type, imagine what voice chat will sound like.

S.......o.......m........e.........t.......h........i.........n..g..........l......i..........k..... ....e....................t.h...........i.....s.s....

Surely skype already offers this. The real challenge is a voice system that hides the tone/quality of the voice so it cannot be recognized but still be very understandable.

The lag might go away once LL get client caching working properly.

i use yahoo an skype no lag in voice what so ever clear as a bell either or no problem

Voice wouldn't go through SL servers at all. The only thing SL would do is clicking on objects in SL would initiate the voice chat. After that, it's just internet chat relay of some kind.

Then it wouldn't be integrated would it? It'd just be like some other VOIP client + SL.
And I thought that the idea of voice chat inworld wouldn't involve needing to click on objects.

Valid point, but it would be a bad idea for it to be completely integrated (as you said, lag city). As an in-between measure, a place could have an audio media stream (which does come through SL client but isn't served by LL servers), and some easy way for folks to join so that their voice gets added to the stream. Using the channel provider's servers to relay, of course. The biggest problem with this is echo cancellation (because you'd hear your own voice after a significant delay).

BTW, this would be lag city in any case, depending on the distance between the audio content server and the speaking & listening parties. After all, light only goes so fast. For long distances (e.g., over 3K miles), the speed of light tends to be the most significant factor.

Regardless of how it's implemented, I would not only refuse to talk on it, I'd refuse to listen. Reasons why have been stated in various threads and comes down to "but that's not how my character sounds" (ie female in Britain playing a male troll. Somehow I don't think it'd make sense to my ears).

you can use ventrillo, xfire, or teamspeak. LL doesnt need to waste any time and effort when there is perfectly good clients that are networked alot better.

If you want to do voice chat do teamspeak.

You can create a second skype accont with your character name and put it on the first page of your profile. That is what I just did after reading this thread. Not sure about PC to PC conference for more than one to one though.

No need to be In world to get a skype (or any other already existing service) call, redirected to a mobile or cell, with a listed number in SL."If that's what you want.
But oh so much easier to have a collaboration on a build and to teach.

I think as a whole voice chat should be not allowed.

1) I play a Hermaphrodite here and obviously I am not one gender or another and constantly get asked what gender I am. If I wanted you to know my RL gender I'd have told.

2) some DO know my RL gender and yes typing SOMETIMES is annoying. So I go to voice.

3) Some CANNOT handle voice and SL. My partner infact at times has to choice being with me in SL or in voice. Often the reason we need to voice is CUASE of SL so it contradicts.

4) Adding voice will cause the sterotype "person) is not (insert gender) cause they won't voice." Alot of people use this then to be harmful, mean, or to discriminate.

My advice is if you want to voice go to a program like Skype.

I think they should add it to SL but as an option, like a box ticker if you want it activated or deactivated, im not to educated in that field but, I think it would be good for Rp also, even though some beasts or animals wont sound alike, there is some voice morpher programs out there , like MorphVox, can change the pitch's of your voice, but, I rp in Sl, but Gorean type, I think voice would be cool, and if people want to type thats fine, somone can communicate while typing to a person whos voicing, not too sure if it would work out though.

I sometimes chat with voice over skype with friends.

Unlike many, my personal choice is that *I don't care* who knows me as a real life person.
Real Life stuff does go on between friends I have met on SL as with any other place online.

SL doesn't need to add voice, that's probably just going to slow things down even more
and a lot of people aren't going to use it.

I type fast, so, I don't feel the need... but there are some users who have trouble spelling
[that's ok, we're all good at our own thing] and they get on better with voice.

Yeah, Skype, use that, it works.

Wolfie!

I don't care that people know what I sound like, that's not my issue with using voice. I'm just not comfortable using it.

All Hail The One Grid!

The one grid with one policy, all voice enabled, or all voiceless, that is.

Making choices is so much easier when there's only one!

Reminds me of Ankh-Morpork's "One Man, One Vote" policy.
The patrician is the man, he has the vote.