Ah - the responses you are hearing are very interesting (and important).
I have exactly the same profile. I tried it (a year ago), thought it was interesting, and have not used it since then.
A few points:
1) When you come to SI you are "ready to go". All you have to do is start typing. With voice chat, you have to plug in a mike, hope it does not get feedback from your speakers, etc. - in short, more hassle.
2) In the general chat rooms I went to, it was like walking into a bar. You really did get more of a "feel" as to what somebody was like by hearing their voice but the feel you got was not all that great. When people type, they get a chance to think and clear up their statements. When you talk it is like shooting from the hip. So there was a lot of bar room "I am a bigger man than you" chatter.
3) The plus side was that transmissions were much faster (you get more said in a shorter period of time) and they were thinking of adding web cam pictures to the mix.
I walked away saying, "yeah, that was interesting, I gotta go back sometime." - but I never did. And the fact that the first three respondents to your question had the same feeling must say something.
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While I got you here, what do you think of the Chello talks and their parent UPC? |
