Voice modifier

Sorry, nothing to add but my total agreement with everything Jeremy said. Voice is the kiss of death.

Scares me. Yes, I know people that want to speak to me. Skype, YIM give my computer a call, will you webcam with me, you can do it there. Not sure I want to go there with some of them.. This may be way to personal for most SL'rs that do not want to mix their RL with SL. Me I don't mind. But gee, I just am not ready for this yet, especially when I think of some of the situations my little Avi gets her butt in. I think I would be inclined to decline this invite.

I'm not against voice chat in SL but it would be a problem in busy places and difficult for people whose RL would have a different voice from their SL avatar.

I went to a live concert where a guy was singing and playing guitar (good) while his avatar (pretty female) strummed a guitar by the mike. Obviously the combination was unconvincing. Perhaps we were expected to imagine the singer had a female voice but my brain software couldn't accommodate it.

I chat with a Nottingham accent in SL but I doubt if my RL agent would be much good at reproducing it, m'dook!

The majority of escorts in SL are opposite gender. Furthermore, sl is currently a place where people come to be who they are not... not who they are. Voice will ruin that. Ruining the sex industry is simply not the way to foege forward in SL. Sorry. bad idea.

But will it turn my human voice into a dragon's?

Um... do you really think http://www.screamingbee.com/SoundClips/Pro/WhatToWearPro.mp3 sounds much like a real girl? It's a common problem, it focuses too much on the pitch and doesn't change the resonance at all. Guys, if you're really determined, try: http://www.heartcorps.com/journeys/voice.htm (and before anyone starts whispering about me, I got that link from an RL co-worker who's an m2f TS, ok? :blush

And if I may say so the equivalent in the opposite direction ( http://www.screamingbee.com/soundclips/SportsCar.mp3 ) doesn't belong anywhere other than as the voice of a scary doll telling you how you're about to get killed. (And you've got to love the stereotypical phrases they choose as examples, of course.. )

lol those voices sound horrible.

As more voice changers are used -

Anyone with an unusual voice will probably be accused of using a voice changer whether they do or not. If anyone thinks voice will end paranoia they are crazy.

This already happens in combat games.

That makes sense.

Probably is gonna matter a lot more in a social game like SL? =/

im so looking forward to voice. I click on my headseat 3,4 times a min just raring to go ..

software + training = success.

I found this to be true for voice recognition or OCR of handwriting.

Just think of how people had to learn Palm writing.

You just have to remember not to speak funny in RL.

Graffiti is a shorthand, and it's more like typing than a new style of writing. It's actually considerably faster than regular english, and when I was learning it I made notes in it for practice until I found my handwriting was becoming less legible for other people.

Here's an idea. Make it so EVERYONE has a voice mask, with no option to turn it off. Make the mask be just like a shape or skin, where it is its own object that can be added to a wardrobe. Then have it be adjusted in your appearance window, just like your shape.

Xbox Media Center comes with some very convincing voice masks that I believe are open source. There's one in there that makes my baritone cigarettes and whiskey voice sound almost exactly like a teenage girl. Really freaked me out the first time I heard it.

As stated before, I will not be using voice under any circumstances. I have nothing to hide except the fact that my RL is not to encroach into SL, and Vice Versa. SL is fantasy, as much as some who seem to wan't to remove that aspect may think. So what , if the nice looking guy I'm chatting with is a 35 Yr Old Bored Soccer Mom in RL. That thought doesn't enter my mind..I take all avis I meet on face value. When I shut the program down...they are gone. And anyone who will accuse me of hiding something because I don't use voice is someone I don't want to waste time with anyway. Let them roll the program out, those who are against it don't use it. Let's see how the numbers shape up. And if SL becomes a place unfriendly to non users than I will simply leave, taking the fairly large amount of money I spend a month here with me.

Oh yes, and much money will leave with me as well. L$410,000 and counting.

Oh please, oh pretty please tell me you're being sarcastic...

As video killed the radio star, so goes voicefor SL.

And as I've said before, I'm too busy talking to myself to listen to anyone else.

Viva la voice free SL!

Meggy. (Ripping speakers from her computer...)

Yep was being sarcastic hehe

(Paid member - male with male avatar) I agree with all who are against voice because it will turn SL into nothing more than an extension of RL, something that text has a way of avoiding. With voice, I will no longer remain a member. SL will have become just another on-line dating and phone sex service. Hear that VC's?

... and I can just imagine the headache of trying to listen to the music I'm playing in club while distracted by the cacophonia of a dozen voices speaking two or three different languages over the music. Eek.

Personally, I talk fine. I'm not a people person, but voice doesn't bug me. Of course, my avatar is a close to an approximation of my own appearance and stature as I was able to manage at the time.

As for webcams. I can see a legitimate use, but I don't have the hardware to support it. Anyone remember anything about the "IToy" for the PS2? Imagine your camera mapping your face, not broadcasting your face, but mapping it, and using your own facial expression to animate your avatars. That would be useful, without forcing people to own up to being less than perfectly attractive.

As for people who are concerned about voice breaking the roleplay element, as people can no longer convincingly play as something other than what they are.... Imagine the stereotype of the three hundred pound phone-sex worker.
Even WITH "voice verification", those who wish it, can't be certain they're talking to whom they wish. They want Carmen Electra Perfection, not Normally Flawed Human.

I am concerned that voice will isolate some persons. Either they will have to run client-side text-to-speech, some server side solution will need to be provided, or they will go without the full range of speech. Really, that only means they won't overhear things and thus won't be able to join into a conversation that didn't initially include them.
If SL can include Text to Speech capabilities, at least if it worked semi-reliably, it would also aid in policing. As many of the less than mature will choose this new trick to voice profanities, it would be useful if those profanities were captured on a text log for enforcement of community values, should members of the community complain.

I once (felt I) had to destroy a pornographic prim, and as a consequence, LL never saw it, despite my own report of it. Because they never saw it, no-one was banned, or prosecuted...to the best of my knowledge.
I say I felt I had to, because immediately after erasing the offending thing, I realized that, although I couldn't push it into the ground, (not being mine, despite it being my land,) I could have covered it up until LL had a chance to see it.

Hey, LL. Revamp the rating system. See Slashdot for how it's done. If the community can rate the individual, but the individuals own ratings are weighted by their ratings, perhaps the real jerks can be marginalized while the rest of us can talk freely...with automatic mute on the morons. This would work for text chat too, as well as parcel access.

HEY! Not all of us Pittsburgh Males have deep voices!!

I thought of this too, but can only find a few issues. One is Voice is based on Position. So someone who's farther away & talking wont be heard. A DJ on a stream will be heard regardless of ones location. Seems streaming takes precedence over Voice with regards to "Who Can be heard loudest".