Voice chat...I refuse to use it...am I a terrible person?

Firstly, I want to say that I think voice chat is a great feature for those of us that want to use it. I know a lot of people come into Second Life exclusively to sit around in thier favorite place and voice chat all night long with their friends, and this is wonderful. I also know a few close friends who have found real world love in Second Life, and voice chat has been a god send for them.

I happen to be someone who never uses voice chat, and I probably never will. This is because I am in Second Life mainly to role play. I did not create my avatar in my image at all. I came into Second Life wanting to create a character that I would "play" in the Metaverse. Royce is a strong girl. She's what I am inside, but lack the self confidence to show in real life. She's also what I find attractive in women and men wrapped up into one. She's basically a fantasy character even to me. I could never properly portray Royce as this character using my voice and my way of talking. I sound like Mini Mouse with a stutter, and I'm also intimidated by microphones, so my delivery would be horrendous. To me, this was what attracted me to Second Life. The imagination and pretend element of it. Obviously, when I get to know someone, I open up a bit about my real life. But I try to keep it in IM's and not as a part of my Second Life persona.

My question is, does this somehow make me a bad and shady person in Second Life? I sometimes feel like I am the odd one out when everyone is standing around voice chatting, and I'm not even listening to them. I really don't like turning voice on, because it ruins the mood that I'm trying to create for myself (and for other people too). I turned it on once just to listen in, and it was the weirdest thing to hear "ordinary" person voices attached to these "extra-ordinary" characters I'd been interacting with for months. I had created voices for these people in my head, like when you read a book, and I was disappointed when their real voices were nothing like the ones I had made for them.

I also think that voice has no place in official role play sims. It just becomes too tempting to sit around and talk out of character, and there's nothing sillier than hearing someone explaining what they are doing with you in context to the game with their "normal person" voice, especially in a fantasy scenario. It just becomes silly.

Anyways...I know I just ranted a bit here, but I want to know what some of you think about this. Specifically...

1. How do you feel about people who flat out refuse to use voice chat? Does it raise questions of trust with you?

2. Do you think voice chat should be kept out of role play sims, or do you think it can add to the experience?

Thanks everyone!

Voice has no play in official roleplaying sims?

Says you? How about not using everything the game itself provides is not being a real roleplayer? Voice is here and it's here to stay. You don't need to use it but then when you're left behind you can't say anything as now where you see many others chatting on voice yet this person doesn't use it so they can't participate.
I didn't see where op stated who they were, I imagine a female. But men who play girlies won't dare touch a mic as don't women who play men. This is for the most part. Others use excuses of language difference and it's not that good an excuse as they're many groups here of different languages where they also have their language here.

Excuses, excuses, excuses!!!

Excuses, excuses, excuses!!!

Yeah, those of us who cannot or choose not to use voice chat obviously need an excuse
This is exactly the kind of thing / attitude the op was referring to, I imagine. *sigh

You don't need to use it but then when you're left behind you can't say anything as now where you see many others chatting on voice yet this person doesn't use it so they can't participate.

I'm glad to find this thread; I have an RP sim and was mulling over whether to allow voice chat on the land, and what RP policies would need to be applied to it down the road. Now some people do have good voice acting talent and the talent to integrate interface with imagination in roleplay.

Well.
I will use voice still with friends. I might talk if I feel like it, but the only people who get to 'demand' I talk to them are people I already care about (and I guess that goes for new friends I will make ... mwah to a lot of people here).
The 'privacy' angle makes me smile as I wipe a mail sent to my work mail from someone I thought I could trust. Seems not huh.
I'm pretty glad I never lied in my RL and still don't, because there is not much poo to hit the fan in terms of things he can do or say.
But there's loads of reasons not to want to use voice ... for a start it is distracting when you are wanting to do something else.

Funny... I know many, many people in game... I do meet even more... Not even 2% uses voice... and of those 2% a majority not all the time.
Woaaa.... I feel so left behind....
Morwen.

Don't see why anyone needs an excuse not to use voice if they don't want to.

And surely men playing women or women playing men IS roleplaying, and a lot harder to do convincingly then playing an elf or a vampire, etc. But using voice would spoil the roleplay in such cases, unless a voice changer was used which is not something the game itself provides.

You following me?


Only point I was making is that I don't see why anyone who cannot or chooses not to use voice would need an excuse. I can see why it's attractive to people, and I hope everyone who is using voice is enjoying it, but that comment from Cole just ... well...... annoyed me.

Anyway, old debate, been there, done that, chucked the t-shirt.

/me goes off in search of pie and penguins

YAY penguins
I don't ever want to hear of penguin pie tho. Unless it is a special pie which penguins like, that would be ok.

YAY penguins

I don't ever want to hear of penguin pie tho. Unless it is a special pie which penguins like, that would be ok.

And RP with TV on the background? Radio? Someone shouting "Look after the kids. I have to pee" (I really heard this once). Sorry, no thank you... not for me.

And....

*Puts her hands angry on her hips.... her eyes filled fire... bitting her lips to bleeding try to control her deep emotions.... as raises slowly her hand, pointing at you.....*

Try that in voice.

Morwen.

EDIT: Question: If it's disabled on the land, guests there still have the option to voice chat in private, is that correct?

This is correct and also gives rise to the erroneous impression that not many people use voice.

If you are in voice or conference IM you are not available to chat in public.

Try putting '/me' before that and follow it up with a clear voice quote. Like so:

.Voice is a wonderful tool, one with many advantages and positive attributes. If you choose not to use this ability, no one of quality will ever bad-mouth you for this choice.

Very true. My personal impression is that there are rather more voice users than many people think.

/me waves at Cherry

Then the sad conclusion has to be that there a lot people of "none quality" in SL. You should hang around in the welcome area's at time.... it can get disgusting there at times concerning the use of voice or not.

Morwen.

Oh and how, but then they always were. First time I logged into SL I nearly uninstalled it on the spot.