Voice awareness for non-voice users

No, voice ~may~ not cause lag. I'm still skeptical on that with LL being the one's designing it. However, I will conceed the fact for now.

However, Voice DOES use up bandwidth which is "felt" like client-side lag. I'm unsure as the extent of the effect, but enough people have spoken out about crashing due to running voice. As the Voice system "seems" stable for most, I have to assume that this is due to overloading their client systems.

~Jessy

A lot of things dissolve friendships here, I don't think Voice is the cause to any higher percentage. It's just the way it is in SL. We make emotional attachments at the drop of a hat, "marriages' and partnerships usually have the mileage of a 1972 Cadillac, and we sometimes get pulled in deeper than our intentions and capabilities warrant. So while this one cause shouldn't be trivialized, as we are all people with feelings and emotions, it shouldn't be made out to be the scourge that some would make it appear.

You are right, but a lot of people aren't very thoughtful or introspective. They don't stop to think that their attitude could be hurting another, even a friend.

Leading to the situation Winter describes.

The world would be a better place if they were - but the friends hurt each other without thinking all the time - this is just another avenue, really.

But...... but........ that would make sense!

Well true.

But generally what I see in these threads is someone complains they've lost friends and a lot of others just saying "they weren't really your friends" It comes off pretty cold.

that lag only affects those running voice though, right?

Ohh kayyy ... how about a third colour for speak only?

That makes even more sense, you're scaring me

Speak only made sense to you? Now you're scaring me Sally!!!

Then call me cold. I agree. Sympathy is a nice thing, but evntually you do have to stop whining and come out of the fetal position and move on. Most of the Voice uses here are unapologetic about it, as they should be. They have their vision of what SL is to them. It enhances their experience, and that is what we are here for. Most of them are accomodating to non voicers. There are some asshats, but there are also some on the other side who are walking around with some chip on their shoulder because they don't use the feature and feel the world is out to get them. I know not everyone can be the thick skinned bitch I am, so take it for what it's worth, considering the source.

https://jira.secondlife.com/browse/VWR-1994 - proposal for a visible option to just listen to voice, not speak.

Thanks. And to whoever proposed it if it wasn't you, Yumi.

So true. I'm sure I've hurt others with my thoughtless comments which were not meant to hurt. You know that person that always blurts out everything without thinking? That's me. I'm not easily insulted or hurt by comments, so I guess I'm less careful than I should be. Maybe it's a good thing that I don't use voice...

Ooooh noooooo, me don't want to scare Mr Nice Guy!


It does actually........ one friend of mine has a very hard time hearing properly, but she can alledgedly speak your ears off, another has similar problems described above as in picking up all sorts of sounds he's not supposed to be able to hear.
They decided against using voice because they constantly had to explain why they can speak but would prefer others to type.
Confused much?

I have often spoken out against gender benders who lie in online relationships - And I still think that sort of deception is very wrong, particularly among those who care.

If it matters to one partner in a relationship - then it matters in that relationship.

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Still - I don't see how using a voice changer by a gender-bender is any different from using an opposite gender avatar.

Why would someone masquerading over voice be any different functionally from someone masquerading over text?

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I'm speaking in a larger sense, your pet peave is your pet peave, thats totally understandable.

But logically I cant see the difference between gender-bending graphically and textually and gender-bending using voice chat.

In any case, as usual, I thinkLL rushed the voice feature out withought enough thought on not so much it', need but on what it would have feature wise. Some of the suggestions are pretty basic ones I think. I will say that as Voice threads usually go, this one has been uncharacteristically civil. maybe there is hope for us yet.

I think part of the problem is we construct our sentences differently between speaking and typing. Barring typos and misspelling, I have to edit or explain my text more often than my verbal comments.
Take Colette's example of "They weren't really friends" You read it and yes .. horrible.
Say it, with compassion and stress the 'really' .... totally different.
We type what we think ... but not how we think .. I think.

I think this problem will sort itself out over time.

Since the friendships that ended over voice is mostly a past tense thing now -

In the future with voice chat in place, those friendships between people who are incapable/unwilling of being accommodating either way - just wont form.

I use voice with some groups and not with others. In voiced groups there are usually a few people whose voice isn't working properly, or they don't use it; we always include them. In clubs and crowded places I almost NEVER use voice -- the jumble of noises is way too much. I can never have music and voice at the same time either. With my boyfriend, we always type, except occasionally, like with friends. It's part of keeping us grounded in SL and not venturing into RL I think. We express ourselves better in chat sometimes.

It's really a question of being considerate to all people. Voicers who snub non-voicers probably aren't very nice to begin with. If it weren't voice, it would be something else.

But where voice is essential is in what I do...and that is performing arts. Those of you who don't use voice at all...wouldn't you enable it to "hear" a performance? You aren't expected to speak...you are actually asked to turn OFF your mics.

Shameless plug here: "The Vagina Monologues" will be presented IN VOICE on February 23 as part of VDAY, a global effort to raise awareness on violence and abuse against women. I hope some of the people who don't use voice might consent to at least enable it for one of the shows.

Im curious why you use voice instead of a audio stream for performance? Since as you point out you are interpretable by those who leave their mics on.

Not disagreeing at all - just curious.

I don't really understand the necessity. If you want to hear voice but not speak then just enable voice and turn off your mic. It's as simple as that.

Hear hear. (unintentional pun). It's an online form of "body fascism" (where of course, pretty=right, good and ugly=bad, wrong) - if you choose not to use voice, you must need helping with something that's wrong, or investigating in case you are a "fake". As Winter says, the iussue with Voice isn't how it works - it's the effect it has on a depressingly simple-minded sector of the community.

I play pretty much exactly as myself. I'm dull like that: c'est la vie. Tried not being myself and can't do it. A big part of this is something i discovered way before SL ever appeared: what you type with your fingers ain't waht you say with your voice. Fantasy play is a lot easier to do with the written word than it is with the spoken word.

A feature brought in to compete with World of Warcraft and the like has produced an underclass of bad or non voice players, and another group of ubermenschen, who either don't understand the non-voice position, or likje the idea that they have a competitive edge.

Personally, I'd like an indicator that someone is voice-enabled; rather like people who wear weapons, it would save me the trouble of having to figure out why I should avoid them.

So you would 'avoid' all those who use voice? I'm pretty sure the percentage of 'simple-minded' and rude people using voice is about the same as those who do not.

Simple. It sounds bloody awful. End of, really.

Because we are theatre people. It's all about the "live" aspect.. the actors feeling the energy.... We aren't presenting a movie or tv soundtrack. Come to both shows, and you may get a little different interpretation at each. Theatre exists in the moment...and it's heady stuff...movies & tv are static...theatre breathes.

Okay...that was off-topic a bit... But Voice is ESSENTIAL.