If there is one thing that facilitates communication between international Pirates it is the English language. Love it or hate it and despite the fact that the majority Pirate languages are German and Swedish, most collaborative activities are conducted in English. As the growing world-wide Pirate Movement expands into new countries and involves more people from diverse cultures we need as many means of communication as possible. The Pirate Times is, of course one such medium, as are the international conferences and workshops organised by our parent organisation Pirate Parties International.
However most of us do not have the time, funds or opportunity to jet across the world. Mumble is our solution to this problem. Mumble is an open source, low-latency, high quality voice chat software primarily intended for use while gaming. The Pirate has adopted if for its own purposes and it is being used to connect pirates on a continuous basis around the planet.

Mumble uses a system of rooms and most are dedicated to uses for specific groups with specific purposes but now PPI has seen a need for Pirates just to be able to hang out together, chat, get to know each other and share ideas and experiences. Thus, at the request of PPBE, it has created the “English speaking salon”, located in the international section of the server run by the North Rhine Westphalia branch of the German Pirate Party.

If you are familiar with Mumble and have the server details then you can go there and chat. It has just been started so be patient and we are sure that it will be humming soon. If there are too many people there already, temporary extra rooms can be added by registered users. If you wish you can give some background information about yourself in the comment box and a picture if you so desire.

If you do not have Mumble yet then read on.

 Downloading and Installing Mumble

The Mumble client can be downloaded from the source forge page.

Once you have done that follow these instructions to connect to the NRW server.

• • Open the Mumble client
  • In the top left corner click on “Server” then “Connect – a new window opens
  • Under “Servername” click on the arrow opening “Public Internet” then “Europe” then “Germany”
  • Find “Piratenpartie NRW” and click on it – a button “Connect” at the bottom will become active. Click on this button.
  • A small input window will open labeled “Enter Username” – here you can enter your name or a nickname for your mumble session.
  • When the connection is complete you will see a list of rooms Find “International” and double click on “English speaking salon”

Personalize Mumble

• To personalize your Mumble presence click on the “C” button or the toolbar item “Self” You can add a small bio of your self with an avatar and links.

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  CC BY-SA Pirate Times

Configuring Mumble

• To make sure that your chat is most comfortable for you and your friends it is best to use the “push to talk”feature:
• Click the “Configure” button in the tool bar and select “Settings”. It should open at “Audio Input”.

  

  CC BY-SA Pirate Times

• In the section “Transmission” and item “Transmit” select “Push-to- Talk” from the drop-down list you will find under “Function”.
• On the same line click under “Shortcut” and key in the key combination you want to use when you wish the microphone to be live. CTR-Shift is a good choice as it is almost never used when typing normally.

  

  CC BY-SA Pirate Times

Registration

The next thing you should do is register. This means you can keep a permanent nickname that no one else can use. It also means other users can trust you are who you say you are and you get certain privileges like being able to create temporary rooms. This is found under the tool bar item “Self”.

You are now ready to Mumble with English speaking Pirates from around the world. See you there.

 Featured image: Public Domain 

About Andrew Reitemeyer

I joined the Pirate Party of Lower Saxony in Germany in April 2012, once I found out that non citizens were welcome to join and become active members of the Party.
I joined the Pirate Times soon after it was started as a proof reader and am now an editor and author. Since then I have returned to my native New Zealand and joined the Pirate Party of New Zealand.
Politically I come from the libertarian left and have, up to now, not regarded any political party as having a solution for the democratic deficit that envelops the world. With the advent of the Pirate Party, which truly embraces grass roots democracy, I have found a political home. The Pirate Times is a way I can contribute to furthering the Pirate Movement around the world.
Skype: frithogar

 

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If there is one thing that facilitates communication between international Pirates it is the English language. Love it or hate it and despite the fact that the majority Pirate languages…