Second Life: Voice, will it leave us speechless?
Created by AJ Kelton (Montclair State University) on March 29, 2007
For a month or so a number of select users were testing the voice chat in the beta grid. As of 5:38pm PDT on 3/28/07, that option is not open to everyone. You can find details by going here:
http://blog.secondlife.com/2007/03/28/voice-beta-live/
So - is voice in Second Life a good thing?
Many of us have gotten used to new habits developed due to needed to type conversations. There has been a whole etiquette developed surrounding this process. In fact, some of my non-education friends are very against voice chat.
I believe there is good use for voice chat - teaching, groups, etc.... But walls and ceilings don't stop sound in Second Life. So, right now, if someone is having a conversation with 20m of you, you "see" it, even though you are not part of it. Once voice chat comes in, you will be able to "hear" it as well.
One friend reported a trip to the beta grid where she was outcast and ignored by a group who were chatting because she would not use the voice chat. She said they were downright hostile.
Granted, that might have been an isolated incident, but it is likely that voice chat could segregate the SL community. I would not be surprised if the ability to use voice chat becomes an item in private SIM covenants.
Time will tell - but I know this much, I can't wait to "talk" to my class, groups, meetings, etc... instead of typing. Just NIMBY, please.
http://blog.secondlife.com/2007/03/28/voice-beta-live/
So - is voice in Second Life a good thing?
Many of us have gotten used to new habits developed due to needed to type conversations. There has been a whole etiquette developed surrounding this process. In fact, some of my non-education friends are very against voice chat.
I believe there is good use for voice chat - teaching, groups, etc.... But walls and ceilings don't stop sound in Second Life. So, right now, if someone is having a conversation with 20m of you, you "see" it, even though you are not part of it. Once voice chat comes in, you will be able to "hear" it as well.
One friend reported a trip to the beta grid where she was outcast and ignored by a group who were chatting because she would not use the voice chat. She said they were downright hostile.
Granted, that might have been an isolated incident, but it is likely that voice chat could segregate the SL community. I would not be surprised if the ability to use voice chat becomes an item in private SIM covenants.
Time will tell - but I know this much, I can't wait to "talk" to my class, groups, meetings, etc... instead of typing. Just NIMBY, please.
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