Voice chat change

[scubaman]

Folks,
for a while now, members of the Penturners Guild have been hosting a voice chat that several IAP members have also been attending (and all are invited to!) We have been using paltalk, and let's just say there 'have been issues' especially recently

So we have decided to give a different package a try. Paltalk has driven some of us over the edge (especially in Northern California, I was told The next few chats will be using Ventrilo instead of paltalk. To help work out technical difficulties, I have set up a test chat Sunday night. This is just to test the system, not hang out and talk pens Details on setting up ventrilo are in this new document Jeff just loaded for me

Test chat: Sunday 8 - 10 PM EDT

===> Mac users need no longer feel excluded - a Mac client is available!

On Tuesday will be our regular chat time. I hope we won't have to deal with technical issues then. This Tuesday we will have a guest: Steve White whom many of us use for custom stabilization will attend, so the focus will obviously be on stabilizing

 

[JimGo]

I'm glad you decided to change to a different chat client Rich. I installed PalTalk, and was immediately turned off, and never wanted to participate. I'll have to try Ventrilo!

 

[scubaman]

For free, paltalk seemed OK, it offered a nice set of features. But to get rid of the ads every participant would have to pay... most people, myself included, preferred to bitch about the ads ;-) I'd gladly have subscribed if it made the overall experience better for everyone. So, let's see how well Ventrilo works for us. In testing, it performed well.

 

[PenWorks]

The clairity of the Ventrilo system is far supior to Pal Talk, plus ZERO adds []
and not disruptive to your computer. The tests we have had so far , seem promising.

The biggy to the install/setup is step 4 Rich described in his file. You need to set up this hot key to activate your mic, instead of being voice activated.

There is a chat box to type as well, but very limited in features, as this is really set up to be a voice chat.

Hopefully this will work and bring in a bigger crowd to the party [8D]

 

[dfurlano]

If you set up a server Ventrilo is free.

 

[scubaman]

Originally posted by dfurlano
<br />If you set up a server Ventrilo is free.

Right, but you can't just set up a server for a large group of participants... Ventrilo wants to license the program, they require 1000 slots to start, and a growth plan. They market to service providers! A personal server can be set up for free but is limited to 8 slots. This is where we did the initial testing and verified that it works very well for windows and mac clients.

To repeat what I said in the document: the client <u><b>IS</b></u> free, there is no charge to participate in the chat.

 

[JimGo]

Rich, have you looked at something like Yahoo! messenger, which allows you to create voice chat rooms?

 

[scubaman]

Originally posted by JimGo
<br />Rich, have you looked at something like Yahoo! messenger, which allows you to create voice chat rooms?

Yes. The issue is you have to specifically invite people. You cannot simply send out or post login info

 

[Deere41h]

If you follow the instructions that Rich has put together it is not difficult to set up. I did it in about 5 to 10 minutes. There are a couple of critical areas so make sure you follow the instructions that Rich gave out. This should make for a much more enjoyable chat with no interruptions from unwanted guests. Thanks Rich for looking for another venue for our chat.

 

[Johnathan]

Well, I have everything downloaded and ready, now I'll just wait and test it out on Sunday![]

 

[scubaman]

I think everyone that has participated in one of the recent chats will agree that it is quite an improvement over paltalk. But, as I mentioned when I set it up - it's not free. I funded the 1st month, that expires 6/2.

To help fund the chat, I have set up a paypal account. You can make a donation in any amount you wish, it does not have to be a month. The cost for the service is $15.76/month, it's a flat fee, there are no other costs to the participants - no individual subscriptions are needed.

The paypal account is ventrilo@beautifulhandmadepens.com . It's a personal account, so the account cannot accept credit cards - payments must be backed by a checking account on the donor side. If anyone prefers to send me a check contact me - I will transfer it in.

I think the cost is low, and worth it. Let's see how the funding goes. I'll bring the subject up again if we run low on funds. I already received a donation so the next pay period is covered.

Thanks in advance for all donations. That paypal account is dedicated, the payments to pure-voice (out ventrilo host) come directly from that. Every penny you pay in there goes directly to the chat - no administrative overhead

 

[scubaman]

I would like to say a big THANK YOU!!! to all that contributed to the ventrilo chat fund. We have just over a year funded, and that's a long time! I'd say if anyone else wants to contribute - thanks a lot, it's great to see the support for this, but let's wait till we run down what we have.