Hear ye, hear ye...

I've opened a Bad Astronomy Chat group on Paltalk. Paltalk is free voice chat software with text support. It's a fun program I've used for quite a while, and I thought it'd be nice to create an environment for interested people to chat about the same goodies we discuss here on the board, in a more interactive, real-time format.

System requirements for Paltalk:

• Windows 98/ME/NT4/2000/XP
• 166MHz Processor with 16MB of RAM or better
• 28.8kbps Modem or better
• Full-Duplex sound card required for audio

Getting started:

1) Create an account on Paltalk, providing a valid e-mail address. (Make sure to uncheck the "Send me newsletters and affiliate information" boxes to prevent receiving unwanted solicitations.)

2) After you submit your registration, follow the prompts to download and install the Paltalk software. (Make sure to uncheck box detailing the added "search companion" software on the page that pops up after you've entered your registration information, it's an unnecessary add-on.)

3) When you log on to Paltalk for the first time, you will be prompted to enter a registration code sent to the e-mail address you used in registration, in order to activate your account. As soon as you enter that code, you'll be logged on.

4) If you have a microphone and wish to participate in voice, follow the prompts and run the Paltalk audio test before joining this or any other chatroom in order to make sure your mic is functioning properly. (You don't have to have a mic to participate, feel free to type in text if you're more comfortable doing so.)

5) If you're having any problems with the software, consult the help files and user guides on this page.

To find the chatroom:

• Once you've logged on to Paltalk, click on the Groups list.
• From the categories listing, find and double-click on the Social Issues category.
• Whatever rooms are active in Social Issues will be displayed, by default, according to the number of users in each group. If you wish to sort the group list alphabetically in order to spot the room more easily, click on the bar that says Social Issues - Group List.
• Double-click on Bad Astronomy Chat to join the group.
  
• Remember: The room may not always be open; because of the way Paltalk works, the administrator (moi) or moderators (if/when added) must manually open the room in order for it to be active. If you don't see the room on the groups list it's likely not be open, check back at another time.

Chatroom Rules:

In an effort to keep things streamlined (no idea how many people will choose to participate), IMHO the same sort of ground rules that apply here on BABB would be the most appropriate.

Some things obviously wouldn't apply, as it's real-time voice+text chat and not a message board, and I'm obviously not The BA, that sort of thing -- but I think it's simple enough: maintain "G-rating" decorum (i.e. no swearing or lewd stuff, it's an all-ages atmosphere), be polite, no personal attacks, refrain from politics/religion unless there's a very specific tie-in with astronomical goodies. Don't get me wrong, wide latitude will exist in the environment, to include BABBling and casual chat -- we don't have to limit discussions specifically to astronomical matters. You'll see what the atmosphere is like if you decide to come onboard and give it a shot, and I promise to run a very fair, tolerant group.

As with any Internet environment, be it chatrooms or message boards, Paltalk rooms at times fall victim to trolls and disruptors ("room raiders" as we call them). Attempts to derail, hijack, troll, or disrupt this chatroom will be dealt with swiftly, as that sort of behavior will not be tolerated.

So there you have it! Today is the inaugural day of Bad Astronomy Chat.

If you have problems finding the room or need assistance not detailed in the help section I listed above, feel free to send me a PM here on the board and I'll do my best to help.

Hope to see ya! 8)

*edited to fix a silly typo

BTW: the chatroom is open now at the time of this posting, and I plan to keep it open for at least the next several hours.

My thanks to Wolverine for doing this. I stopped by a couple of times, and there were 40+ people in there! That makes it a very popular room for Social Issues. Congrats!

I have made this a sticky, BTW.

__________________
Phil Plait
The Bad Astronomer
http://www.badastronomy.com
badastro@badastronomy.com

I think I'll try this...

What time is it gonna be open usually? (in GMT for the mercy of those living on the other side of the Atlantic )

Neat program.

there is an IRC channel too!

irc.sorcery.net:6667

channel #babb

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You have a grandstand seat to one of the greatest on most momentous occasions in the history of science

Of course, it had to be Wintel-based. :-?

Probably best this way, though, as otherwise I'd be spending time there instead of working... 8-[

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"We do not require reality to conform to the expectations of the ignorant"

It´ll be nice to hear the voice of the fellows. Got to find my mic...

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What brings us together is stronger than what pulls us apart

It'll be open periodically in the afternoon/evening my time -- I'd say the best time to look would be 21:00 - 03:00 GMT. This may vary though... the conversation was so good yesterday, I kept the room open much longer than I'd intended.

I know, it's unfortunate.

Maybe in the future they'll offer something compatible with other platforms. I do know one person that's able to run PT under some sort of PC emulation software via his Mac, but the Linux devotees seem to be left out in the cold.

Whew! It was a heck of a first day, we must've had several hundred people come through, and at peak there were better than 50 chatters in the room (58 at highest, if I remember correctly). Not bad for a first effort.

It was great to get some new BABBers in the room as well, and hopefully we'll see more in the future.

Fun stuff. 8)

My user name is Sever_Energia BTW. Thought everyone should know that. It was great last night.

Hey, come to think of it, it'd be helpful for those participating to post here along with the username they're under so that people can keep an eye out for one another, especially if folks secure different nicknames from their handles here on BABB.

My user name is ll Wolverine ll. (Case sensitive -- had to add the goofy extras because my name's always taken.)

All sorts of other rooms too.
One where you can speak on a radio station in Isreal and a UFO room.

Congrats Wolv...good work sir.

So when's karaoke night? :-#

:P

Never. Karaoke is evil.

Great! We can take turns singing the songs from this thread.

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Everything I need to know I learned through Googling.

We could sing Tom Lehrer songs! Maybe our own rendition of the "Boot to the Head" series? Perhaps we could continue where Gary Larson left off: "Feelers..."

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h00!

Room's open now.

Tonight we'll have a simulcast of The BA's radio interview on SkyTour, 22:10 Eastern/ 03:10 GMT. Details are on the main page.

Cool Wolverine. I just registered with same handle as here. I need to get a mike for my computer .. beats the heck out of typing! :wink:

Yay! Maybe when Archer shows up I will finally take the mic.

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Hwæt! We Gardena in geardagum,
þeodcyninga, þrym gefrunon,
hu ða æþelingas ellen fremedon.

Quick question: Are computer mics any different from normal mics?

The paltalk chat is open, so come on in everyone!

It depends on the nature of microphone, and what you mean by "normal" mics.

Certain manufacturers offer desktop and headset mics for PC applications which purportedly have "noise-cancelling" features to help eliminate background noise. The most common differences between PC mics and those designed for pro audio applications are the quality of the components and construction, impedance, connector type (XLR & 1/4" mono versus the tip/ring/sleeve or mono 1/8" miniplug that most sound cards accept), sensitivity & frequency response, and pickup pattern (e.g. omnidirectional, cardioid, etc.); more here.

I bypass the usage of cheapie microphones because I happen to have a couple of excellent quality pro audio mics. Since there are appropriate jacks on my PC, I use my ATM63HE for voice chat.

I used the site yesterday, text was great but the received audio kept dropping out, I think it's a problem at my end but not sure. (I have a 512k/sec broadband connection that should be fast enough???)

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The meek will inherit the earth ... the rest of us will go to the stars.

Notice:

In regard to the Paltalk chatroom...

While Paltalk software supports webcams, given that I am not a Paltalk subscriber, and don't have the ability to monitor people's cams in real-time during chat sessions, I have chosen to disable video in Bad Astronomy Chat. The room still supports real-time voice chat and text.

Paltalk subscribers, i.e. those users whose names show in blue on the user list, have access to "full-motion" video, whereas non-subscribers, whose names display in black on the user list, see single, still frames.

It has come to my attention of late that certain users/trolls on Paltalk (not from the BABB), occasionally descend upon G-rated, family-oriented rooms like ours, activate their webcams, and sometimes do things that are not appropriate for an all-ages audience. Nothing necessarily obscene, mind you, but all things considered, to best preserve the guidelines for the room, I've deactivated video capability. This may or may not be permanent, we'll see.

Just wanted to let you know before BABBers go nuts trying to figure out why their webcams aren't publishing.

Can we just chat using text without having a mic and using voice?

Yeah.

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Hwæt! We Gardena in geardagum,
þeodcyninga, þrym gefrunon,
hu ða æþelingas ellen fremedon.