Text or Voice?

[Pussycat Catnap]

9 minutes ago, Seicher Rae said:

Don't be so sure.  I'm pretty good with understanding accents, from years of living in the San Francisco Bay Area. A nice German accent might be quite yummy. Now if your voice sounds like you just inhaled helium... never mind.

Yeah but I think that's a trait kind of unique to us Bay Area folks...

I can walk past 5 people and hear 7 languages in 9 different accents, and that's normal. At least outside of San Francisco (the City itself has lost ALL of it's charm - even read an article this morning that the 'trendy shops' of gentrifiers are also now closing because even though they sell to the 1%, they can't pay the rent... it's a city now of 1%ers, techies that order in, and vacant lots)...

But yeah... I watched that youtube video of the politician and was wondering what the problem was... try talking to a 35 year old software engineer who's only socialization for the last 10 years has been some website that ends in 'chan' and watching anime vids of girls in sailor suits... Now THAT is hard to understand...
(sidebar: and yes, that was the tech lead on a project a few years back, I had to communicate with that guy while that anime was on his screen in the office... and sometimes it was the original 'uncensored' Japanese version and not the stuff my niece used to watch)

 

Edited January 9, 2020 by Pussycat Catnap

[Fauve Aeon]

The first group of people I met inworld used voice in the group chat every day together...it was on just about everywhere we went together and even when we we were all spread out on the grid doing this or that on our own. It was fun, there was always someone on to gab with it seemed, and if you didn’t want to talk you just typed instead. 2-3 people always typed, never spoke but they listened and it was a good fit for the group. No one either felt compelled nor left out. Maybe because I jumped into voice right away, it didn’t ever really seem odd to speak to people in SL? Now I wonder.

Today, one community I’m in doesn’t use voice at all, another actually talks a decent amount, types some and hosts a weekly bardic for singing and telling stories in voice and text, mixed. A third never types in chat at all, only the occasional short group notice. 

[Seicher Rae]

10 minutes ago, Pussycat Catnap said:

Yeah but I think that's a trait kind of unique to us Bay Area folks...

I can walk past 5 people and hear 7 languages in 9 different accents, and that's normal. At least outside of San Francisco (the City itself has lost ALL of it's charm - even read an article this morning that the 'trendy shops' of gentrifiers are also now closing because even though they sell to the 1%, they can't pay the rent... it's a city now of 1%ers, techies that order in, and vacant lots)...

But yeah... I watched that youtube video of the politician and was wondering what the problem was... try talking to a 35 year old software engineer who's only socialization for the last 10 years has been some website that ends in 'chan' and watching anime vids of girls in sailor suits... Now THAT is hard to understand...
(sidebar: and yes, that was the tech lead on a project a few years back, I had to communicate with that guy while that anime was on his screen in the office... and sometimes it was the original 'uncensored' Japanese version and not the stuff my niece used to watch)

 

We really need more than one option to respond to comments. I ♥'d your comment in general, but wanted  for the bit about the decline of SF, although it was pretty much like that when I was there :::cough::: years ago. I wanted the  for the bit about the software engineer.

[Fauve Aeon]

14 minutes ago, Seicher Rae said:

I live in fear of accidentally having my mic ON and falling over laughing at such a thing again.

If you voice a lot it WILL happen. the mic will get left on, things will be heard.
 

I guess I’ve been lucky in my friends groups because anyone with the bad kinds of noises, someone who eats the mic or who doesn’t heed the social cues for decently polite conversation will get told about it, for sure. In work groups, one facilitator and time keeper is a good policy. But a blow-hard is going to do same in text as voice, and a whiner will type out their complaints and strangely, people are way more willing to tolerate it more and for longer in typed chat, but many will address and stop it sooner if it’s in voice. Odd, hm?
 

[sirhc DeSantis]

Text. Do voice when streaming but that is about it plus it is one way Truth be told, I spent my first 6 months in SL without realising there was any sound at all. Wondered why I was going to so many concerts until it clicked. And not a fan of my own voice anway, nasty nasal accent twang to it. I also don't bother with any talking  head type video unless there is a simultext (this applies to RL too, although I do listen to radio news. Go figure)

I to would be very happy to have functioning v to t and vice versa services. One reason I don't like going to the inworld meetings - used to be that there was a published transcript.

[Fauve Aeon]

55 minutes ago, ChinRey said:

What I'd really love to have, is good, smooth voice-to-text and text-to-voice conversions. Maybe some day...

OK here’s the thing though, except for with punctuation I think that my voice recognition does really well I’m actually using right now for dictation

there aren’t any corrections on this post so this is my experiment and I think it works pretty well I don’t really feel like I’m speaking in a stilted tone and even if I make a boo-boo in the conversation context catches it and it will AutoCorrect

done

(but yeah, I’d need to learn to insert the punctuation and capitals)

[AyelaNewLife]

As someone who did a boatload of sound tech stuff in my youth - the overwhelming majority of people haven't got the faintest idea how to use a microphone. Basic lessons in mic positioning, push-to-talk keys and reducing noise pollution would go a hell of a long way to making the voicing community in SL even remotely tolerable.

Not that I'd voice myself; it ruins the immersion for me personally, and as I've had recordings of my voice leaked before, people I meet over the internet will have to make do with my typing or find someone else. And I fully agree with the comments about majority-voice groups being incredibly exclusionary, even if unintentionally. I've tried listening and typing, but it's honestly a horrible experience, and not something I have any desire to repeat.

[Tolya Ugajin]

When I first started, I had no mic, and I had teenaged daughters, and I hung out at places that were predominantly or only text, so voice wasn't an option for many reasons.  I'm not a particularly fast typist, so I found texting to be the single most annoying part of SL - even worse than than the "u like 2 butt seks" people, who were at least mildly amusing sometimes.  Even worse, I actually engaged in SLex back then, and doing so via text is, ummm, well you get the picture.

Later I upgraded to a better laptop and the kids moved out, I started running my own places, and I started using voice, which is far more convenient for me, especially since I am seldom doing one thing at a time.  Now, I almost exclusively voice unless in a private conversation, and only text in group chat for the most part.  But, oddly, I found SLex to be less intimate in voice, and the BDSM stuff pretty useless in voice, and of course bondage really doesn't translate to voice, and watching animated avatars go at it while talking in voice seems, well, even more weird than animated sex in the first place.  So, I pretty much stopped doing SLex (besides, skype is better for "vanilla").

[Maitimo]

1 hour ago, Seicher Rae said:

Yes. Isn't that odd? Or maybe it isn't. I definitely have discovered I have some bias, very stereotypical ones at that, with accents. On the plus side, people with British accents seem more cultured (that's a common one for Americans, which is why so many ads for expensive things are narrated by Brits). My British friends laugh at me when I tell them this.

I get this too, especially since I originate from the southern half of England so my accent sounds "posh" (upper class) to most people. Even in RL I get this, living in the north now, but I have still not lost my original accent so people tend to assume I am wealthier or smarter than I really am. Funny how people often conflate wealth with intelligence.

It often works to my advantage in RL though, especially when dealing with local businesses. 

Edited January 9, 2020 by Matty Luminos

[Bree Giffen]

I prefer not to use voice. I also don't like text either. I have a large amount of images saved in my inventory from which I can construct a visual language. For instance, to say hello I produce a picture of me waving. 

[Selene Gregoire]

1 hour ago, ChinRey said:

good, smooth voice-to-text and text-to-voice conversions

[Tolya Ugajin]

1 hour ago, Seicher Rae said:

Yes. Isn't that odd? Or maybe it isn't. I definitely have discovered I have some bias, very stereotypical ones at that, with accents. On the plus side, people with British accents seem more cultured (that's a common one for Americans, which is why so many ads for expensive things are narrated by Brits). My British friends laugh at me when I tell them this.

I've generally found that when a cultured British voice, particularly female, says something, people automatically default to "do what she says".  I know I do.  It might be a Mary Poppins thing.

[Anna Nova]

I have this dream that one day someone will make a cellphone that is very small, wearable, and has no screen at all, and does basically what Alexa does, but better.  Then I can use it when I'm running....

I don't actually have an Alexa, but I do have a nice Google Mini, that G sent me for free.  Now I found out how to get the daft ***** out of it, and get a nice young man, I find it quite fetching.  He even says 'Hi' by name...

For SL, I will not use voice at all.  Ever.

[Kimmi Zehetbauer]

2 hours ago, Selene Gregoire said:

Voice is pointless for those of us who are deaf or have hearing loss and/or tinnitus.

 

Facial recognition? No way. LL would charge us out the ass for that.

Or in my case --- unable to talk except for a couple of words here and there due to a long time condition.

[steeljane42]

Text. I have voice (well, media/sounds as well) disabled completely, so not even listening. I had my fair share of chewing/sipping/heavy breathing/vacuum cleaners/barking dogs etc "experience" during mmorpg days already, where I also found it close to being pointless at best and distracting at worst, but it was actually "new thing" back then, so I gave it a go.

Helps to save a lot of time, too. I found people who "demand" you to voice to be the worst, even worse than ones with random pixel sex "offers". The latter are (usually at least) are fine with getting a "no", while the former will often get quite aggressive. So if it comes within first few minutes of chat - I'm quite happy to close the chat or just block them if they keep going with their nonsense.

[Beth Macbain]

2 hours ago, sirhc DeSantis said:

ruth be told, I spent my first 6 months in SL without realising there was any sound at all. Wondered why I was going to so many concerts until it clicked.

I promise I'm not laughing AT you, but WITH you... but I'm laughing a lot at the thought of you going to these concerts and people losing their gesture-bating little minds in local and wondering what the hell the big deal was and thinking we were all some kind of freaks pretending we could hear music. 

[Rolig Loon]

Voice was invented about three months after I joined SL.  Except for a handful of times when I have had it enabled so I can listen to a voice-only conversation, I have never turned it on.  I don't have a mic, of course, so On/Off is a moot point.  Text preserves my feeling of immersion, gives me time to think about what I'm saying, provides an archivable record, and opens up a whole world of puns and double entendres that would be lost in voice.  I am a two finger typist with arthritis, so I make dumb typos.  Still, that's no worse than mumbling in voice, and it's become my endearing trademark.

[Maryanne Solo]

I don't think that.... (blazing saddles movie baked bean extended fart...), there's anything wrong with.... (chips & biscuit packets crinkling loudly....), using voice. But I have never, (screaming children fighting and yelling in the background.....), used it myself because I started SLing.... (deep deeep burp Lurch the butler would be proud of...), as I've mentioned before, on dial up... (dog barking in the background....) Internet.  It would be really really nice... (screeching brakes and huge multi car accident...) to hear others smexy angelic or husky voices.. (TV Blaring in the background....) but text is just the way I've always played SL. And with text, as others have mentioned ("ya undies are in the third draw like I told ya 3 times already flossie"!), you can do other stuff and then see what was written shortly after. 8^) All the while maintaining ones appropriate level of (glass window payne breaking...) decorum and supreme etiquette.
Know what I'm sayin? 😍🥰 

Edited January 9, 2020 by Maryanne Solo

[Selene Gregoire]

32 minutes ago, Rolig Loon said:

Voice was invented about three months after I joined SL.  Except for a handful of times when I have had it enabled so I can listen to a voice-only conversation, I have never turned it on.  I don't have a mic, of course, so On/Off is a moot point.  Text preserves my feeling of immersion, gives me time to think about what I'm saying, provides an archivable record, and opens up a whole world of puns and double entendres that would be lost in voice.  I am a two finger typist with arthritis, so I make dumb typos.  Still, that's no worse than mumbling in voice, and it's become my endearing trademark.

RL other half is a two finger typist but I'm the one with the arthritis. It doesn't bother me much most of the time but winters can be brutal at times. I think it may have something to do with being a pianist in my early years and typing on a daily basis now. Of course I "pop my knuckles" from time to time to release the nitrogen gas that gets trapped in the joints. Of course I have other joints that pop on their own like my knees and ankles. In my younger days I'd get out of bed to snap , crackle, pop and it wasn't Rice Krispies. It's been decades since the last time it happened though so it seems to have stopped for good.

Edited January 9, 2020 by Selene Gregoire

[LittleMe Jewell]

I tried voice once, but didn't like it - for many of the reasons stated here.

Primarily though, nobody else in my house wants to listen to me talking to folks in SL all the time.

[Amina Sopwith]

1 hour ago, Tolya Ugajin said:

I've generally found that when a cultured British voice, particularly female, says something, people automatically default to "do what she says".  I know I do.  It might be a Mary Poppins thing.

Well, this is useful information. Spit spot.

 

[Tolya Ugajin]

23 minutes ago, Amina Sopwith said:

Well, this is useful information. Spit spot.

 

Yes, Ma'am!  Right away, Ma'am!

Dammit, there goes my uber-Dom reputation.

[BelindaN]

Well I don't sound exactly like Mary Poppins...... but here's the thing, I don't voice in RL. 

All my comms with friends is text. 99.9% text. I can't text my mother, she doesn't have a mobile phone. I dislike using the phone, after working on the phone for a while. When I do ring anyone, I run out of things to say after a couple of minutes.

So why would I voice in SL???? Plus the usual of family firing questions of who, what, where,  let me look.

No thanks.

[Amina Sopwith]

31 minutes ago, Tolya Ugajin said:

Yes, Ma'am!  Right away, Ma'am!

Dammit, there goes my uber-Dom reputation.

It's funny that you say my accent (I do have the same one as Julie Andrews) sounds commanding, because it most definitely hasn't had that effect on the Doms with whom I've voiced. I have had requests (or orders, if they're Doms) to say dirty words, though. 

I also used to voice in group discussions within an RP sim. We never had any of the background noise/chewing/TV/screaming kids/coughing problems, but we were a small group. They were mostly American and they did occasionally ask me to just say anything, read from whatever book was closest to hand. My copy of Ogden Nash verse was particularly popular.

 

Edited January 9, 2020 by Amina Sopwith

[Marigold Devin]

6 hours ago, Seicher Rae said:

When inworld, do you prefer using text or voice to communicate? Why?

In 10+ years in SL I've voiced a handful of times up until recently. The reason? I prefer text. I like to immerse into SL, and so as part of that I imagine the avatars' voices, like in reading a book, and just like a book made into a movie it can be jarring when you hear actors voice characters so differently than how you imagined it in your head. The only time a voice was better than anything I could imagine in SL was long ago, with a British guy who has the most silky baritone combined with an accent so posh he makes the BBC guys sound like Cockneys. :::zomg, swoon::: ANYway...

I recently have been attending a lot of group meetings that are held in voice. Text is allowed, but it can be a pain in the gluteal area. After waaaaay too many hours trying to figure out why my mic wouldn't work on my desktop whereas it does on my laptop, I now have voice. I hate it. I hate the sound of my own voice. I am not thrilled to hear other people's voices.

And of course there's the old SL thing of "voice verify" which... hasn't anyone ever heard of voice modulators, so how is the notion of verifying still a thing? 

I HATE being on voice. For some reason, the last time I logged in world, I landed at an adult safe hub, where half a dozen self-absorbed morons were talking in voice. I was out of there in a shot.

There have only been two times that I have talked to anyone in Second Life on voice; one was Janelle Darkstone, and that was only one time, and once was to a lovely German man I found ghosted on a Linden highway on the mainland. 

I like typing.