Litopia Village Hall – Join In & Dates Etc

[AgentPete]

Folks, I’m back from a short break, feeling really good, and looking forward to doing some amazing things with our lovely Litopians.

I’d like to resume our Village Hall meetups - for those who never took part, or who are new here, we got into the habit of having an informal virtual meeting every month, at which work could be discussed, questions asked and sometimes topics seminared... e.g. my own obsession with the importance of a stunning first page.

Two questions...

We have a wider range of tech options now than we did last year, e.g. Facebook Live. But tell me, how would you like to do this? Video or just audio? And is there any platform (e.g. Facebook, YouTube etc) that you really do like – or really don’t?

Is the first Sunday of the month, at about 5pm UK time (=12 noon EST) good for most people?

Let me know!

 

[Chase Gamwell]

@AgentPete It's good to see you back!

I've really been missing the meetings and am happy to see that they will be making a return. Honestly, I think a really good option for the site would be the creation of a Discord channel. Discord is a really great system that allows for audio and text chat, with plenty of customization options. The website I write/edit for uses it to hold meetings and have staff communicate with one another. And when I play games with my friends, we use the Discord voice chat service as a way to communicate without having to utilize in-game chat mechanisms.

(Another upside of the platform is that it can support quite a hefty number of individuals. And with the ability to have people drop in and out of audio channels seamlessly, it makes the whole organization thing a bit simpler since there's no need to wait on a call to get set up.)

Further, it's available in browser and as a downloadable application that's fairly easy to use once you get the hang of it.

Just let me know if this sounds interesting and I'd be more than willing to put together a bit more info about it.

-Chase

 

[Marc Joan]

I'd be happy with audio only, if that suits others. Sunday at 5 pm works for me too. I look forward to more village gatherings, am readying pitchfork and flaming torch, & have tied string around my knees already.

 

[Robinne Weiss]

Yes, keen to have more village meetings. Sunday at 5 pm is fine. I prefer audio-only, just because my internet connection is pathetic (though at that hour (4 am Monday for me), it can sometimes handle video).

 

[Carol Rose]

I'm fine with audio only options. 12 noon EST on Sundays works for me.

 

[Sea-shore]

Same here. Audio only is fine, as is 5pm on Sunday. Thanks Peter.

 

[AgentPete]

@AgentPete Honestly, I think a really good option for the site would be the creation of a Discord channel.

Sounds really good, Chase... I was aiming for something like this with Mumble, but looks as if Discord is actually better / more user-friendly. Yes please, can you put something together on it? P.

 

[Patricia D]

This works for me - thank you

 

[AliG]

I'd love to join too. Either audio or video suits fine. Sounds fun. Thanks Peter

 

[Quillwitch]

That would be 10am for me, so I'd say sound only so I don´t have to brush my hair. Please let us know the technical requirements we´ll need ahead of time so we can be ready.

 

[Katie-Ellen]

Yah Sound only, great, whatever is easiest.

 

[Chase Gamwell]

So...this is by no means an official Litopia thing, but I created a test Discord server for everyone to try out. To do so, follow this link: https://discord.gg/NH5cPpB

It should take you to discord and prompt you to either join as a guest or sign up. Signing up just means you have a persistent profile you can use to join multiple servers.

As I've mentioned, discord is available in browser, or as a desktop app. When I didn't use discord a lot, the website worked fine, but now that I use it for everything, I have the app.

If anyone needs help with setup, joining, or anything else, let me know. I'd be more than happy to walk anyone through everything and demo the system!

@AgentPete let me know what you think when you get a chance.

 

[Chase Gamwell]

Some additional info about Discord:

Discord offers the convenience of both text and voice chat. For instance, on the test server I have set up, there are text chat channels for each of the major portions of Litopia: Cafe Life, The Whole Writer, Writing Wiki, Flash Club, and The Mash. Voice channels can be set up for each of these as well.

The best part is that the Discord server can be moderated much like it is on the site. This means that special channels can be created - for stuff like writing groups - that only certain members will have access to. This would allow people to come together for more instant conversation whenever they needed to.

And there's so much more, that I'm sure I'm forgetting something. Just make sure to let me know if you have questions.

 

[Katie-Ellen]

Signed but.... but, help... it says this type of file can harm my computer?

 

[Chase Gamwell]

@Katie-Ellen Hazeldine Discord shouldn't be harmful. If you're trying to download the app on windows, the default setting on .exe files for windows is to say that it could be harmful. If you're uncomfortable downloading the app, the web version should be totally fine and functions the same way as the app.

 

[Patricia D]

I think I just joined - it looks easy. Did not download the app.

 

[AgentPete]

@AgentPete let me know what you think when you get a chance.

Terrific - thanks, Chase, will do now!