Ventrilo and TeamSpeak aren't dead: why diehards refuse to ...

2007: The first steps to a successful night of Ventrilo trolling is to change your display name to something syntactically obtuse. Skiptomaincontent PCGamer PCGamerTHEGLOBALAUTHORITYONPCGAMES Search Subscribe (opensinnewtab) (opensinnewtab) (opensinnewtab) (opensinnewtab) (opensinnewtab) (opensinnewtab) UKUSCanadaAustralia PCGamerMagazineSubscription(opensinnewtab)(opensinnewtab)Whysubscribe?Subscribetotheworld's#1PCgamingmagTryasingleissueorsaveonasubscriptionIssuesdeliveredstraighttoyourdoorordeviceFrom$10.99(opensinnewtab)View(opensinnewtab) News Reviews Hardware BestOf Magazine TheTop100 Forum More PCGamingShow Podcasts NewsletterSignup CommunityGuidelines AffiliateLinks Meettheteam AboutPCGamer PopularDiabloVRisingPCGamingShow'E3'scheduleEldenRingMultiVersus PCGamerissupportedbyitsaudience.Whenyoupurchasethroughlinksonoursite,wemayearnanaffiliatecommission.Here’swhyyoucantrustus ImageviaHackaday(opensinnewtab)2007:ThefirststepstoasuccessfulnightofVentrilotrollingistochangeyourdisplaynametosomethingsyntacticallyobtuse.Perhapsaseriesoftildes(~~~~~~~~~~)oranalternatingbarrageofgreater-thanless-thansigns(<><><><><><>).Therobotictext-to-speechvoicethatannouncedthecomingsandgoingsofpeopleonaservercouldnottellwhensomeonewasintentionallybeingannoying,soitwouldreadoutyourfullmonikerloudly,withoutjudgmentorcensorship.Thiscameinhandyifyoudecidedtoconnect,disconnect,andreconnecttoaroominrapidfiresuccession."GREATER-THAN-LESS-THAN-GREATER-THAN-LESS-THANHASJOINEDTHECHANNEL.GREATER-THAN-LESS-THAN-GREATER-THAN-LESS-THANHASLEFTTHECHANNEL."Yougettheidea.IcarriedoutthesemissionsduringmypeakWorldofWarcraftraidingdays,usuallywhenaninsiderleakedtheIPaddressofarivalguild'sVent.IassumethatmyoldfamilyPCisstillpermabannedfromsomeserverstothisday.Itwasdeserved,ofcourse.Iwasbeinganidiot.Butitwasalsothrillingandfeltartificiallydangerousinthewaythatjuvenilepranksoughttobe.Youwereonestepaheadoftheinternetpolice,prayingthatyournamewasn'tabouttobeslanderedintradechat.Whenyougointoaserver,you'reinacozyroom.WhereaswithDiscord,you'reinatrainstation.AustinCundiffThatwasthethingaboutVent,orTeamspeak,orwhateverotherVoIPsoftwareyouprefer—thosechannelsfeltisolatedandsovereign,andnaturallythatalsomadethemripeforinvasion.It'samemorythattriggerswheneverIclickanautomatedDiscordinvite,orgetsortedintoavoicelobbyassoonasmyOverwatchqueuepops.Imagine!Iusedtocopydownprogrammingjargononalegalpadandconnecttoathird-partyserver,justtotalktomyfriends.Itfeelslikeacenturyago,buttherearestillplentyofPCgamersouttherewhohaven'tmigratedtoDiscord.Isitstubbornness,ornostalgia,ortheconfidencethattheoldwaysare,somehow,stillbetter?Iwantedtofindout,becausethoseVoIPplatformsarestillputtingupafight.Atthissummer'sQuakeCon,Ventrilogaveaway$10,000aspartofalong-runningUltimatePower-Upsweepstakes,andlaterthisyearTeamSpeakwillrelease"TeamSpeak5,"whichpromisesTwitchintegrationandothernewmediawrinkles.Thisseemstosignificantlydivergefromtheold-schooldesktopclientthesoftwarewasfoundedupon.ThereisalsoMumble,thebareboneshunkoffreewarewithaWindows2000UIandasurprisinglystrongcultfollowing.Togetherthistriptychrepresentstheoldguardofvideogamevoicechat,thebulwarkstandingagainsttheDiscordgeneration,withitssleekdesignandseamlessservers.WhenIinterviewedDiscord'sCEOJasonCitronlastyear,hetoldmehowhegrewupplayinggameswithhisfriendsonVent,andspecificallywantedtocreateaservicethatensuredyouneverhadtorememberanIPaddresseveragain.Missionaccomplished. TodayDiscordhostsnearly100millionusers,andseemstoberapidlybuildingamonopolyinthegamesindustry.ThosewhoremaincommittedtotheirricketyVoIPmodulesarefightingalosingbattle,butIstillwantedtohearthemout.SoIcomposedapostonthePCGamingsubredditlookingforanygrognardswhohaven'tmadetheswitch.Beforelong,ausersentamessagetomyinboxcontainingaTeamSpeakserverandpassword.Justlikeoldtimes.JustlikehomeWhensomeonetheyusedtoplaywithlogsbackon,suddenlyaroutinenightonlineturnsintoanimpromptufamilyreunion.TheSyndicateofGamersTeamSpeakserverisinstantlynostalgicforanyonewhogrewuponVoIP.Alitanyofmiscellaneous,homespunchatroomsdottheserver,eachwithfunny,pithynames—Cougar'sCavern,Duck'sSniperNest—representingthecalcifiedfossilsoflong-deadinsidejokescanonizedbyancestorswhodon'tlogonanymore.Thereare,ofcourse,activeRainbowSixSiegeandPlayerUnknown'sBattlegroundslobbies,proofthatthechannelisnotincompletedisrepair,aswellasthetrademarkpassword-protectedVIProomsthatareregularedbyself-proclaimedofficersandanyoneluckyenoughtobefriendswiththem.I'mwelcomedherebyAustinCundiff,whois24andlivesoutsideofChicago.Thisserveriswherehegrewup.Cundifftellsmethattheserverhasexisted,invariousincarnations,foraboutfiveyears.Overthecourseofthattimehe'sestablishedironcladfriendshipsthroughthekinshipofheadshotsandRagnaroskills,andhe'swatchedthosesamefriendshipsslowlydisappearintotheinternetether.Itgoeswithoutsayingthatthisserverisnotnearlyaspopulatedasitoncewas,butdespitethat,Cundiffhasmaintainedasolidgroupoffriendsthat,likehim,havestuckaroundtheroomsastheyearshavepiledon.HisdedicationtoTeamSpeakisemotional,personal,andpractical—asemblanceofallegiancesallmeshedintoone.However,thereisonetruthhestandsby:TeamSpeak,byitsnature,isamoreintimateplatformthanDiscord.(opensinnewtab)"IthinkthereasonIdon'tlikeDiscordisthatitfeelsso'connected.'Youhaveallthesetabsontheside,allthesenotifications—youcanjumpbetweenanyofthoseserversinasecond,"heexplains."OnTeamSpeakitfeelsalittlemoreprivateexperience,youhavetoactuallyinputtheaddressofwhereyouwanttogo.Whenyougointoaserver,you'reinacozyroom.WhereaswithDiscord,you'reinatrainstation."Broadly,that'sanadageIbelieve;aVentserverasafiefdom,andweitsloyalcitizens.It'sthesamelogicIrelyonwhenIwanttobelievethatmyhairbrainedhigh-schoolmischiefwasunique,orcharming,orpartofmyownsocialdevelopment.Theseconnectionsareabouttradition,notbettersoundqualityorstability.AnotherSyndicateofGamingregular,30-year-oldChrisBrown,feelsthesame."I'vebeenaroundthisTeamSpeakforfourorfiveyears.I'veseenpeoplegrowfromhighschoolstudents,allthewaytocollegestudents.Someofthemhavereallygoodcareersnow,"hesays."ThisTeamSpeakhasbeenafamily."ThethingIfindmostenviousaboutCundiffandBrown'srelationshipwiththeirTeamSpeakserveraretheonce-in-a-blue-moonoccasionswhensomeonetheyusedtoplaywithlogsbackon.Suddenly,aroutinenightonlineturnsintoanimpromptufamilyreunion.Theytheytalkaboutwherethey'vebeen,whatthey'vebeenupto,andwhattookthemsolongtocomeback.Ventrilo4.0'sskinoptionssurearesomething.(opensinnewtab)IntheDiscorderaitseemslikeourorganicanddigitallivesaremergedinconstantsymbiosis,butIrememberneverhavingagoodpolicyofkeepingtrackofthefriendsandcomradesImetonlineduringthemid-2000s,aftertheyinevitablyhunguptheirkeyboardafterafirstbornchild,oranewjob,oranunshakeablecaseofburnout.IknewallmybestguildmatessolelybytheirGnomishandDwarvennames,andI'velonggivenupanyhopeofreclaimingthoseconnectionsfromthedeep. Cundiff,ontheotherhand,leavesthelighton,sothatnomatterwhat'sgoingoninyourlife,anIPaddressfullofpeopleyouusedtoplayModernWarfarewithwillbeinyourbackpocket.Ithinkweallhavedayswherethatsoundslikethebestpossibletherapy."Youhavealotofpeopleleave.Notleavetogotodifferentservers,butjustleaveingeneralwhenlifegetsintheway.Butsometimes,onaweekendnight,someonefromthepastwillpopin.SometimesIdon'tevenremembertheirname,butIheartheirvoiceandI'llbelike,'Ohshit,it'sbeenalongtime,howareyoudoingman?'"hesays."Ithinktheseserversfosterasenseofconnection.I'vehadsomeofthemostintimateconversationsofmylifeonTeamSpeak.It'sbecauseyougetallthesepeoplefromallaroundthecountry,allaroundtheworld,andyouknowtheydon'tknowanythingaboutyourpersonallife,andyoufeelmoreopentotalktothemaboutwhatever.Ithinkthat'smybiggestfearaboutgoingtoadifferentserver,becausepeopleremembertheirserver,andthere'sachancethey'llcomeback.IfwetotallytransitiontoDiscord,we'lllosetheaddressthatpeoplealwaysreturntotoseeoldfriends."TheDiscorddaysMostlyyou'llfindatonofabandonedservers,whichnonethelessremainuntetheredincyberspace.Obviously,noteveryoneiswiredlikeCundiffandBrown.28-yearoldOhioanLiamBaggettrunshisownMumbleserverforhisfamilyandfriends,andtellsmethatnostalgiadoesn'tplayafactorinhisdecisiontoeschewDiscord."[Mumble's]simplicityisahugethingforus.There'snotawholelotofbackendset-up,"hesays."There'snotalotofmanagementtoit.It'sjustalightweightclientweliketouse,andsinceit'smostlyjustvoiceandlinks,itminimizestheamountofjunk.I'veusedVent,TeamSpeak,andDiscord—whichpopulatealotofdata.Ifyouwantasimpleinterface,Mumblestillworksbetterthananythingelse."Still,Baggertisabletogetplentysentimentalwhenhetalksabouthischannel.Ashisfriendshavedispersedacrossthecountry,hisMumblehasbecomeawayoflife.Whenthey'renotorganizingDestiny2strikes,they'rekickingbackonaFridaynightandplayingtunesoverthemicrophone."EverypersoninmyMumblegroupI'vemetinreallife.It'sbecomeaseparatehomeforpeople.It'stheclosestwecangettousallsittinginaroomtogether,"heexplains.Idon'tthinkthere'samoresuccinctargumentforthesanctityofvoicechatthanthat. Tobeclear,youdon'thavetofosteradecade-longkinshipovertheinternettojumponVoIPrightnow.ThereareplentyofpublicVentriloandTeamspeakservers,andyoucanbrowsethemmuchinthewayyoucanwithDiscordhubstoday.GameTracker,theprimarybazaarforaimlessLFGinggamers,isopenandactiveandfullofrandomlysortedvoiceservers,andthecataloglookstobeuntouchedsincethelate-aughties.(opensinnewtab)IpoppedintoonecalledVANtrilo,whichwaspopulatedexclusivelybyaboutfourfriends.Naturally,theytoldmethey"veryrarely"haveanyoneenterthechannelthattheydon'tknow.Otherchannelsaremoreutilitarianinnature;IfoundmeetingplacesforRussianandDutchclans,aswellasanOceanicpublicsquare.Mostly,though,you'llfindatonofabandonedservers,whichnonethelessremainuntetheredincyberspace.Connectingtothemisparticularlysurreal.ThereisnolonelinessquitelikeanemptyWorldofTanksroom.Itdoesn'tgiveyoualotofhopeforthefutureoftheoldways.LikeIRC,they'llcontinuetoexist,butfortunefavorsthenew.Discordiscontinuingtogrow,branchingoutintosellinggames,andwhileitmightnotbethedefactovoiceclientforever,it'shardtobelieveTeamSpeak5willofferanykindofgrandresurgence.Ventriloalsopushedouta4.0releaselastAugust,andbothwilllikelykeeptrudgingalong,sustainedbyaslowlyshrinkinggroupofloyalists.AfterspendingtimeinthoseoldVentsandTeamSpeakservers,though,it'shardtobesadthatthosedaysaregone.Changedoesn'tsignaltheerasureofthegamescultureweknewandloved.Ipromiseyou,it'sallstillhappening.TherearemillionsofteensonDiscordrightnow,andthey'reallfallinginlovewiththeirPC,andthepeoplewholivewithinit,justaswedid.Yes,themeansareslightlydifferent—theydon'thavetomemorizeanyIPaddresses—butthememorieswillbethesame,evenifit'seasiernowtotormentacrosstownclan'sserver. 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