Idea: A Democratic Underground Ventrilo Server for Voice chat.

[Ian David]

Basically, we could use this to set-up several Democratic Underground chat rooms with this. Access would be password controlled. If I've been told correctly, the free version would allow up to 50 people to be connected at once. The pay version would allow up to 1,000 and cost $30 a month.

In addition to being able to use it as DU chat rooms, we could also invite public figures for interviews, town halls, lectures, etc.

What do you guys think?



http://www.ventrilo.com/index.php

Server 3.0 - Public version:

The public version of the Ventrilo 3.0 server can be used without a license fee, so long as you abide by the terms of the LICENSE. Each of the public servers contains a file named LICENSE and by downloading and running the server you are agreeing to the terms of this license.

Server 3.0 - Pro version:

The Pro version of the Ventrilo server can not be downloaded. It requires that we accept your application and that you sign and return the Ventrilo license. However, we do not license everyone.

In order for an applicant to be considered you must meet the following minimum requirements.

<snip>

Ventrilo 3.0.0 is the next evolutionary step of Voice over IP (VoIP) group communications software. Ventrilo is also the industry standard by which all others measure themselves as they attempt to imitate its features.

By offering surround sound positioning and special sound effects on a per user, per channel, per server or global configuration level the program provides each user the option to fully customize exactly how they wish to hear sounds from other users or events.

Ventrilo is best known for it's superior sound quality and minimal use of CPU resources so as not to interfere with day to day operations of the computer or during online game competitions. It is also preferred for the simple user interface that any first time computer user can very quickly learn because the most commonly used features are immediately visible and can be activated with a single click of the mouse.

To see what the program looks like and a list of some of the many features the program offers please click on the About link in the navigation menu.



<snip>

Ventrilo can be used for home / personal applications like talking to friends and family, or playing organized online games where Voice Comm can make them more exciting and productive.

It can also be used in an enterprise environment as a productivity tool for conducting long distance group discussions. This would also help when using group collaboration programs that don't provide any kind of voice communication support.

A Ventrilo server could be setup in order to complement a web site that has voice interaction with its creators or for communicating with other people who share a common interest.

For those people that use Windows or Linux based firewall's to connect their internal home LAN's with the Internet can setup a server on the firewall computer so that friends and family can connect to your server and talk for free.

If voice communication isn't your cup of tea then you can always use Ventrilo as a more reliable form of IRC without the hassles or frustration of trying to teach someone how to setup a real IRC client.

More:
http://www.ventrilo.com/index.php

[ixion]

1. lol... you think we've got flame wars now... implement vent

and just watch the fur fly. :rofl:

[Xithras]

2. Voice chat rooms are rarely interesting.

The problem with voice chat is that it's realtime, whereas discussion boards permit people to chime in over the course of a day, or even several days. DU gets thousands of people browsing it regularly, and the interaction of those thousands of users over the course of time allows the development of thoughtful (and not-so-thoughtful) discussions. With voice chat, you're just going to hear the voices of whoever is on at that moment.

Additionally, as a Vent user, I can easily predict a huge Freeper problem. Vent is more like a CB than a telephone in that it really only allows one person to speak at once. All it takes is one jerk to key up his mic and refuse to relinquish control, and the channel is dead. You can ignore or kick a single user, but there are THOUSANDS of freepers over on that "other" site. What happens if a few dozen of them decide to "mess" with the DU'ers? Moderation would be a nightmare.

I've seen several attempts to create "voice based" message boards over the years. To a one, they have all either died of disinterest or were taken over by trolls, spammers, and idiots looking to cyber. The only ones that DO work use a more "Youtube" style approach where users can record their audio and video clips and store them to a discussion, where they can be viewed and replied to later.

[Ian David]

3. Hmm... you make some good points.

I was thinking of limiting the DU Voice Chat to paid-users only.

And you're right about some of the problems of Vent.

Maybe we could do something like this, but with a different program?