I came here because SL DID NOT have voice

I played There.com for over a year and went through all the embarrasment and humiliation of being a deaf mute in an online world where only a couple people could not pariticipate. It NEVER got easier and only a few bothered to type for those few of us who had hearing dissabilities.

People begged me to come to Second Life because there was no voice, I finnaly decided to make the jump, and have been very happy.

Now in comes voice? Why? I hope someone consulted those with hearing dissabilities about this introduction. Or better yet, login to an online game that uses voice. Unplug your sound card, throw the headphones in the corner, and see how frustrating it can be.

I have the exact same problem as you do. I've been upset that they chose to incorporate this feature because I don't want to have to type out why I can't join in with everybody else over and over again. It really is embarassing.

I definitely sympathize with the both of you, though I am neither deaf nor mute. I have spent quite some time around persons of both types and can only begin to imagine the sense of frustration that you must sometimes feel.

However, SecondLife is aiming to become a platform for a great many things. A very important step in the advance of SL is the ability for large and small companies to hold online 'web conferences'. Virtual meetings are the type of thing the SL platform was built for, and voice is an integral component to this capability.

I do not believe that everyone in SecondLife will grab onto voice and that typing will become a thing of the past. I never used Ventrilo servers in other online environments, even though it was widely available. Some friends grew frustrated with me...but I told 'em to stuff it and type for me. They did.

Anyway...I believe that a great many places in SL will continue to exist without voice. Clubs would be WAY too chaotic with voice...RP environments would lose a lot of their feel with voice...etc. I believe voice will be primarily used privately between two persons or in business-meeting or education type environments.

they make you use photoshop (ect) for textures
they make you use an outside shoutcast server for radio
they make you have a quicktime server
they make you download and install quicktime for video
they make you use outside servers for any decent sized script storage
they make you use outside servers for grid wide script communications
they make you use maya (only current supported program) for new sculpties

AND YET!

you must have voice in the client becuase we dont think ppl are smart enugh to install teamspeak or skype


yep thats from the kings of 3rd party hacks

sigh

makes me wonder which color of post-it-note this feature was written on

I do love that...haha...and...btw...I use a Ventrilo server with SL sometimes for Pen and Paper RPG gatherings.

I have above average hearing and speak just fine, but I for one will not be using Voice, and I doubt I'm the only one. I for one can't stand hearing people with shoddy microphones trying to have a conversation, and I like to be able to go back and read over things I missed. Especially if I'm scripting or something and the view is cluttered as a result.
There's just something so much more convenient with text, it can be relatively fast if needed, but you can read it over at your leisure. You can easily put locations and links into text whereas they'd have to be repeated in Voice.
Plus I listen to music while playing SL, I really just can't stand having disruptions while I'm working and stuff.

So let the businesses have it for meetings, and for people to chat to each other one-on-one, but I won't be using it.

I can see the advantages for business meetings and classes, but I do not have a headset and I'm not gonna buy one. I will use text simply for the same reasons Haravikk posted. And if someone "demands" to hear me I'll tell em (in text) to get lost.

Mandy C

Or worse, a desktop mic and speakers.

/me imagines the griefing possibility of feedback howling round the grid and the ensuing madness as you try to find the culprits.

Agreed...... Griefers are going to think all their birthdays have come at once.....

The virtual world "There" - does it have anything similar to people being able to designate areas as "no voice" areas?

Alot of people have told me, Sharon, don't worry people are still going to type. Not everyone is going to use voice. But I'm doubtfull, in a few months everyone will see how much easier it is to click the microphone button or just leave it on instead of how cumbersome typing is.

On There.Com the only people who type are those without the ability i.e. non-paying members and those with dissabilities. Every hearing challenged person I met felt frustrated, angry, and often depressed at not being able to communicate in a world where....guess what....that was the biggest activity.

I strongly strongly urge the Lindens to ask those in the game who are hearing impaired their opinions and concerns.

I'll turn on my mic for them and they can listen to my ticka-ticka-taptap as I type to them.

Warning: Insensitive Jerk Comments Incoming








That being said, you're hearing impaired. So? The voice chat is optional per sim. I know a lot of sim owners who aren't going to be using it. Go to those sims. Why the hell should those of us who don't mind voice chat have to give it up because you're disabled? This is a really easy fix. Don't like voice chat? Don't Use it.

There is the potential for Comedy as well. Just as Mr Smooth is wooing you, you hear "Marvin, will you come up from the basement for God's sake? American Idol is coming on". "MOM!"

Seriously, so many people in female AV's are going to be exposed for dudes. It'll be comedy gold.


Hrrrmmmm



Maybe that's why a whole lot of Goreans are upset about Voice.

somebody mentioned a piece of voice software here the other week which converted male voice to female and vice versa. i recorded myself speaking through it with audacity and was absolutely stunned by how convincingly female i sounded.

It was the software. Sure, Walker, if you say so...........

But that could add another Verification Layer. You have to certify the voice you are using is yours and not compiuter generated. And PC or Mac. A lotta snobbery in that area. And Bandwith verification. "I'm sorry, I only associate with T1 users."

I'm telling you that I predict in less time than you think it will be difficult to find anyplace that isin't using voice. There is going to be 1 or 2 places (probably owned by someone with a hearing dissability) that will have it turned off.

That being said, imagine walking around in an online world where the most popular event is communication and not being able to. It's not long before you start sitting on your own land and avoiding everyone.

I suppose you won't care because you don't have that problem.

I for one refuse to get voice on my sims... that is not going to happen.. ever!!
I can not be bothered with people now being able to talk to me because I in an insane mood of curiosity turn on the voice feature. I don't want to hear people talking banalities in voice anywhere near me.
I am not interested in hearing echo because some have bad connections.. I am not interested in being griefed with sound bits. If I decide to voice chat with someone I fire up skype or teamspeak. I like to chose who I talk to and not talk to everyone and random. I am no social person outside of my circle of friends.

Also I dont feel like pouring more money down LL's throat for something that will just cause more problems.. Non of my islands have been working properly in the last week, adding voice would most likely add to problems.

And for those that are hearing or voice impaired, it is totally your own business why you do not take part in voice chat. If you decide to tell them the truth, sure but claiming bad connection or no mic broken sound card will do just as fine

I am not against voice I just chose to not use it

And for the record Tybalt is a great guy with a strong stance and opinion, telling him he doesn't care is BS don't judge people over one part of their opinion. He does care a hell of a lot and he has a damn valid point taking something away from people just because you can not do it is just as wrong as adding voice because it will annoy me greatly

gender, voice, age, etc. Honestly the only verification method available eventually will be for a Linden to pay you a RL visit and request you say a few words before dropping your pants.

hmm, i wonder if you can choose which Linden.... =D

Yeah, you're so correct. Obviously a whole lot of people who own sims are going to want to pay Linden Labs even MORE money for voice.





So, for the people who are dyslexic, what do you suggest? Big Bright Spaced Out Letters?




You're right. I don't have that problem.

Half the games/environments/IM programs I use are filled with people with no headsets or mics. I don't see how SL would magically be different placing a beacon on your head screaming 'disabled'. I think you will find that many people choose to type (shy, gender benders, technical issues). But to slam an optional feature that does give everybody the possibility to do something new seems a little bit obtuse to me. Thats like a parapalegic screaming bloody murder that somebody invented stairs, an that cities have the audacity to install them in public places. Control your experience, but don't try to control everybody elses. I could possibly understand if this feature was somehow mandatory in any way shape or form and actually disabled people were were unable to use it. But it does not. Here, we can type.

What about those people in wheelchairs with no fine motor control but a perfectly functional voice?

Hmm?

I suppose it's like shouting at a wall but what ever happened to "My world, My imaginantion"?

Isin't the definition of griefing, interfering with another members enjoyment of the game in anyway?

Even if it were just 1 sim in the whole game that had voice, why am I now not going to be able to enjoy that place? How is that fair?

Turn your head and cough

That wouldnt work either - since then would be no proof after they left you didnt let someone else log in as you.

So the only real solution is have the linden Move in with you and sit next to you whenever you log in.