POLL: Save our Mumble Voice Chat Server?

[Spatry]

It appears we have lost all of our voice chat users to Discord. I for one do not want to put our voice service in the hands of some company I do not know, nor do I trust how they will handle our data. With Mumble, I am in full control of voice chat and it has a lot of nice features. I have been paying for this server for 6 years and I would hate to see it go but if nobody wants to use it anymore, I will put the money somewhere else. So I need your HELP!

SWITCHING TO DISCORD IS NOT AN OPTION... We either have voice chat with our established service or WE DO NOT!

I want to be able to do shows again sometime in the near future, so there has to be a way to save this BUT if nobody wants voice chat here, I will get rid of it entirely. If you wish to support Mumble, I need you guys to log in from time to time. We need to work on making our voice chat great again!

[Crimson]

Part of me says get rid of it, but the other part wants to put an effort towards saving it. Especially since you've had it for 6 years. What's difficult for me is finding the motivation to hop on after working all day. I just feel socially exhausted after having to deal with difficult people, one after another, for hours every Tuesday to Saturday.

I was thinking of streaming classic console games via RetroArch, maybe even setting up a tutorial of sorts for some multiplayer action. Maybe if some of the forum members are interested, I could try to get that going.

[ben (gentoo/linux) fitzpatrick]

i'd say keep it, i miss our fun chats and game nights, etc. we need to revive this community to it's former glory

[M.S.M.]

Maybe switch to a free server, then you wont have to worry about the cost.  There are a few out there that still give you control.  I use Cleanvoice. 50 seats for free. You just have to use it at least once every 30 days to keep it active. I would probably do that if it's a money issue.  

[Spatry]

Maybe switch to a free server, then you wont have to worry about the cost.  There are a few out there that still give you control.  I use Cleanvoice. 50 seats for free. You just have to use it at least once every 30 days to keep it active. I would probably do that if it's a money issue. 

Free servers do not give us the options we presently have.

[OrvilleG]

Unpopular opinion here:

I honestly prefer Discord. It's like IRC and Mumble mixed into one service. Sure you aren't the actual owner of the server, but Discord doesn't interfere unless blatant ToS violations are going on. like spreading illegal content, racism, and anything else that most services don't allow. It also has to be reported first iirc.

Discord also has far superior audio quality, you don't have to deal with those stupid certificates, it has 2FA support, and you can setup extremely powerful bots for basically whatever you'd like. Want to setup a MUD? You can do that. Want to have a jukebox? you can also do that. You can also setup a simple moderator bot if you really want to. I'm currently in a Discord server where Admins can control their game server with bot commands in the Discord server. That's how powerful the bots can be.

On top of all of that, it's free! No catch. yes it has a paid upgrade, but it pretty much improves on what's already there. Bigger file size limit, higher quality screen share, free games, etc.

Anyway, i thought I'd just throw my opinion in there. I left IRC, mumble, TeamSpeak, and other services like those because Discord just does it better. I'm not saying it's perfect, but it's better. I honestly think more people would voice chat if CoL had a Discord server. That being said, I still understand and respect your opinion.

[Crimson]

Unpopular opinion here:

I honestly prefer Discord. It's like IRC and Mumble mixed into one service. Sure you aren't the actual owner of the server, but Discord doesn't interfere unless blatant ToS violations are going on. like spreading illegal content, racism, and anything else that most services don't allow. It also has to be reported first iirc.

Discord also has far superior audio quality, you don't have to deal with those stupid certificates, it has 2FA support, and you can setup extremely powerful bots for basically whatever you'd like. Want to setup a MUD? You can do that. Want to have a jukebox? you can also do that. You can also setup a simple moderator bot if you really want to. I'm currently in a Discord server where Admins can control their game server with bot commands in the Discord server. That's how powerful the bots can be.

On top of all of that, it's free! No catch. yes it has a paid upgrade, but it pretty much improves on what's already there. Bigger file size limit, higher quality screen share, free games, etc.

Anyway, i thought I'd just throw my opinion in there. I left IRC, mumble, TeamSpeak, and other services like those because Discord just does it better. I'm not saying it's perfect, but it's better. I honestly think more people would voice chat if CoL had a Discord server. That being said, I still understand and respect your opinion.

I would like to change my vote to "Get rid of it" because I second this 100%. I first voted to keep it because Spat doesn't want Discord, which ultimately this is his show and goes to be respected, so keeping Mumble was the only other option I could come to. I WAS going to suggest Teamspeak, but honestly Discord is just better overall.

Data snooping? So what. What do they stand to gain from listening to a bunch of Linux nerds talk about Linux? If anything serious needs to be discussed, maybe keep Mumble but downsize it to be more affordable. OR host your own Teamspeak server. Plus, since Discord is free, you're not losing anything by creating a COL server.

If you're serious about COL game night, Discord, Steam, and Twitch are the gaming holy trinity you need to be successful.

Another option might be to include a subsidiary of COL. Call it COLU, Cup of Linux Underground. People like feeling like they're part of an exclusive club. This way you can keep COL the cozy place it is now and still be with current trends. You already have Distro Hunt, why not become a triple threat?

[tinkerer]

I'm with Spatry on this one. As he says, he has total control of chat using Mumble.

I'll certainly make the effort of logging into Mumble more often.

Frank

[Spatry]

I have heard Matthew say that discord has gone down a few times... Our Mumble server has an amazing track record for stability. I want to bring back shows; that makes the podcast feature ESSENTIAL.... and discord does not have that.

Podcast room - Show host and guests discuss the show topic... cannot hear the listeners in the listening room

Listening room - Can hear what is said in the podcast room but cannot voice chat amongst themselves so that listeners can enjoy the show live...

I am picturing in my mind something like what has happened with Facebook & G+ where personal data can get compromised. We have something well established and simply stated, I am not going to jump ship as soon as a new fad comes along. If nobody wants to use Mumble anymore, then I will get rid of it. I could spend more time on my Opensimulator VOIP service but that takes me away from what we do here.

UPDATE: Out of curiosity I READ the TOS for discord and it's VAGUE statement on it's use of Third party services brings up a RED FLAG for me... This is also reinforced by their admitting to sharing information with third parties as outlined in their privacy policy. If they really consider their relationship with their users "vital", they would not share anything at all. MUMBLE DOES NOT DO THAT.

Seems to me that Discord is out to Monopolize VOIP and steal users from all the other platforms, much like Google is out to absorb anything it can. Sticking with the working FOSS solution seems the logical choice now that I have placed my concerns on the table.

[pip5528]

I just read the third party section myself. It's not vague at all. It says they use some third party services out of necessity while warning you that if you use any third party services, you are subject to their terms, not first party terms. Anyways, I agree to keep the Mumble server around for the reasons you have stated, but I will simultaneously continue to use Discord for my own personal reasons. I just use what I have to use and what I like and that's it. I may never need to give up Mumble regardless of the shift. Descent Rangers may have moved from Mumble to Discord, but as long as I have a need for Mumble or can even maintain my own server locally, I'll continue to use it.

[fchaos]

I'll be honest off the bat and say it doesn't make a lot of difference to me, since I really don't do voice chat at all, other than occasionally making video calls with friends on either skype or facebook chat...

I tried to get on mumble once and the sound was terrible, although it was probably something on my end, some issue with my settings, but since I really don't do voice chat, I didn't feel like chasing down the issue.

In the long run, I would tend to agree with Spatry though, as FOSS is always better if you can use it. And it IS his show after all.

[Spatry]

It says they use some third party services out of necessity while warning you that if you use any third party services, you are subject to their terms, not first party terms.

That is the part which is vague, they do not list what those third party services are nor what information is shared with them... Remember, Discord has to pay for their resources somehow and the last time I checked, running a mainframe to serve Millions of users worldwide certainly isn't free.

If Discord swallows up all of the VOIP users, what gives the Mumble developers incentive to improve their software if nobody wants to use it? Then we are faced with a Monopoly controlling most VOIP users with proprietary blobs, I would think that it would be in the best interest of the Linux community to protect their FOSS options so that they do not get abandoned by developers.