Your First Time On a Ventrilo Server
So you’ve heard all about this Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), and have decided that maybe unlimited international calls for a total price of zero is a good idea? Correct. But in this brave new world of global communication, whether you’re conferring with global colleagues or planning a raid on a Deadspace Complex with an armada of all nations, you have to get connected.
How do I start?
The first thing you’ll need is a Ventrilo client, and luckily for you these are fast and free to download from their website. Yes, this is one of those smart companies that realize the software is going to end up free whether they want it to or not and only charge companies for its use - since businesses can’t afford to get caught stealing. Instead you pay for bandwidth, but even then a small server can be run from your computer and even renting a hosted Ventrilo server is much cheaper than the phone.
I’m running the program but nothing is happening!
That’s because you’re staring at the phone waiting for it to twitch. To get online and gabbing away, you need to set up your username (unless you want to be known as “guest”, which online roughly translates as “n00b idiot not worth talking to” in many places) and server. If you’re heading online for a reason the odds are you already have the server and port number. If you’re off adventuring, a google search for “public ventrilo servers” can yield some interesting results. Just be warned that it’s like dialling a number at random, but online, which means you truly never know what you’ll find or what they’ll try to say at you when you get there.
Nobody is listening to me…
Actually, nobody can hear you. The odds are that you’re sitting there with your snazzy headset on and Ventrilo connected, but until you press the magic “Talk” key nothing is being transmitted. A fresh Ventrilo install defaults to Press-To-Talk (PTT) mode, to avoid you accidentally transmitting whatever you normally do when you’re at your computer around the globe when you connect. Hit “Setup” and you can disable this mode if you want to, or redefine the talk key if you don’t. Especially if you’ll be running Ventrilo behind a game, when you’ll want to choose a convenient but unassigned key.
Nobody cares what I have to say!
It’s not enough to talk - you have to go where people want to listen. When you first connect to a server you’re dumped in the lobby, where the only people are other undecided connectees who are just looking for the right room to join. Any server will have a list of rooms for you to talk in, each showing its current status and members. Red loudspeakers indicate silence, green loudspeakers mean the user is talking, and red crosses are members only rooms that you’ll need a password to enter.
Nobody is doing things they way they should. I should be in charge!
Ah, now you’re thinking like a professional internet user! Luckily for you running your very own Ventrilo server is easier and cheaper than it’s ever been. Of course, then you’ll have to deal with all these stupid people connecting to your lovely server of intellectual delight and sitting stupidly in the lobby, but that’s why you put passwords on all the really interesting rooms.
