LIVE SERVICE - Sunday 9th September at 2100 UTC

So I hope Mark doesn't mind me stepping on his toes and as such if what I say is wrong or other arrangements are already in place then this could become null and void at his wish so just a little disclaimer

I have messaged Mark but he hasn't replied but I wanted to put this out there just in case he doesn't have a chance to before Sunday and to make sure that if everything is ok that people know

With that out the way...

I put myself forward to leading the live service this Sunday the 9th September at 21:00 UTC (use clock at top of TOTJO)

I will also be [strike]failing at[/strike] leading the service via a live chat on the (unofficial) TOTJO Skype group (PM me if you wanted to get in and aren't in already)

FYI this announcement also forces me to get off my arse and sit down (:huh:) and type out my planned sermon

EDIT this will also be held on TOTJO chat as per normal

To clarify, will the live service also be held in our regular TOTJO chat? Or just through skype?

SeanChing wrote: To clarify, will the live service also be held in our regular TOTJO chat? Or just through skype?

Good question, yes this will be in skype as well as on TOTJO chat as normal

Forgot to add that

Akkarin,

Is that really in good ethics ? I admit that physical churches can choose to go outside, or have service in a park or by a river ... somewhere everyone can get to. But here, we have a Temple. Everyone can come to chat without a "special invitation" ... The Skype is practical, and it is convienient and even fun, but doesn't it start to resemble an exclusive group (even if it is easy to get accepted into it, one still has to 'ask').

Sure, let's keep the Skype and accept anyone into it who wants to come, but for sermons, personally I feel that should be here -- in our Temple.

This is just how I feel, but I doubt I am the only one.

Respectfully,
A/O

I understand your position, but currently TOTJO is not in a position to provide such a service but we are able to do this by another means

And it is not so much 'inviting' people in as it is letting people in. They just have to contact someone first to be able to (as there is literally no other way, I know of, that it can be done on skype)

We currently have to make do with the tools we have (my voice doesn't go as far as would be needed lol)

I have posted announcements on TOTJO facebook, and Google+...

OKAY -- Big blunder on my part there ! Sorry ! :blush:

But it is true that Akkarin has a lovely voice and it is as pleasant to listen to him speak as to the London Symphony.

too late for me, it would be 1:30 AM!

Hmmm. I will be attending.

I do have two personal opinions to air though, feel free to take no notice of them if they seem like an overreaction.

Firstly, it seems inappropriate to me to arrange this without confirmation from GM Mark. I'm sure he'll be perfectly happy with it...but you never know whether some alternative arrangements have been made. I know there is a disclaimer...but in the event that something else had been arranged, it might put Mark in an awkward position.

Secondly, although Alexandre seems to have kind of retracted his original statement, I agreed with it. At this point in time we do not do live video/audio services, and again it seems like something that should be discussed with GM Mark, and probably the Council. Of course, I do realise that the service will also be held in chat, but I think that it should not feel to those in the chatroom as though the real party is being held elsewhere and they are excluded through not having skype or not wanting to join the group for any reason. I think part of what is so great about services is that we all gather together for them, whereas doing it in several different places will result in smaller groupings split across different places and less of a sense of togetherness and unity. I think that services should be held in one place, whether that be in the chatroom, skype or elsewhere, but I don't like this idea that some people will get a fuller experience of the service than others - and before you say that skype is free, people should not be expected to get it for a one-off service.

I hope that I don't sound too stroppy...that is not my intention. I am just explaining my personal standpoint. I am sure that many people think differently, and I respect that.

Well I just spoke to Mark via text (which in hindsight I really should have thought about the whole phone thing beforehand but oh well lol) and he's fine with it

He's currently having some minor internet issues which should resolve soon

Just an FYI, there is a minor issue regarding skype talking capacity. The maximum is 25 and while we probably won't have that many people there (I'm not that good at speaking Alex lol) it's just something to be aware of

Metsu is thinking up some kind of computer sorcery that might get around this but just keep it in mind

Also everyone will have to be muted or chaos will ensue lol Worth trying at the very least I think

Also a good precursor to other more feasible options, got to start somewhere *looks at ren*...

I know I know... (though I must point out, with the radio thing, there would always be significant delay, and it's not interactive. Regular chat-based services ARE interactive. With skype voice or other audio-conference solution, interactivity means it could get pretty loud and chaotic )

I believe there is a way to mute your individual voice in virtually every audio/video conference method. Including Skype.This way people can mute the line for the Sermon and simply un-mute afterwards if there is a post-sermon discussion.

While I do enjoy the idea of having an audio/video conference as opposed to simply reading it, I doubt skype would be the optimal solution as it can only support 25 people and people must be individually "friended".

There is a site called http://www.freeconferencecalling.com/ that supports up to 1000 callers and allows for call management (mute controls during the sermon). I personally believe this would be a better option as you can post a link to the website and a phone number to the call so that everyone could attend if they want. It even allows for conference recording so the sermon can be retained for future members to attend.

OK, sorry for not replying sooner but I've had major issues getting online. Considering I'm on fibre-optic to the cabinet and should be getting speeds of 35M, to be pulling only 0.2 was a bit ridiculous! However, now the nice engineer has replaced our antiquated (it's less than a year old!) modem with newer model, that should be sorted!

Anyway, to the topic.....

I'm more than happy for Akkarin to perform the service and would love it if there were more Clerics able to do this as it takes the pressure off me. In fact, if we could get a regular list of people, we could even start holding services more regularly. But we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

I share V's concerns about people in Chat feeling like they're missing out but if Akkarin is confident that he can conduct a service in each place without a loss of service, then I'm good with that. After all, experimentation is sometimes the only way to see if a concept is viable. Out of interest, would you be hosting the Skype and Chat services at the same time? Or one after the other?

Resticon wrote: There is a site called http://www.freeconferencecalling.com/ that supports up to 1000 callers and allows for call management (mute controls during the sermon). I personally believe this would be a better option as you can post a link to the website and a phone number to the call so that everyone could attend if they want. It even allows for conference recording so the sermon can be retained for future members to attend.

Mark wrote: After all, experimentation is sometimes the only way to see if a concept is viable.

One of the main reasons for trying this out is that with the radio idea, which will eventually find its way onto the main website, we need to start trying out these ideas to see what works, what doesn't etc

I just decided to take some initiative and give it a go since no one else has done so yet. It might go horribly wrong but oh well (to those who saw my comment on facebook and G+ lol)

Ideally I think it would be great if we had an archived list of sermons that could be played and listened to (as well as having them archived in text normally)

I envisage that whatever we decide upon in the future will be completely different. What software we use will almost certainly change and the interaction between the clergy and the audience will alter as well

But we have to begin somewhere and that started with these live sermons that Mark began and this seems like another logical step along the way

Mark wrote: Out of interest, would you be hosting the Skype and Chat services at the same time? Or one after the other?

Same time

OK, then good luck! So will you be typing in Chat and speaking in Skype at the same time?! I will try my best to be there.

There may well be teething issues while we try out new ways of delivering services and connecting to our members. I'm quite happy for us to experiment with different formats and platforms as long as we continue the regular sermons and deliver something interactive at least once a month.

Thank you for taking the initiative, Brother!

I marked it down on my to-do list, and I hope circumstances will turn out so that I can attend. It will be 11 am in Hawaii when the service starts for everyone.

Derp. I'm working tomorrow, but I'll try to make some time.

To address some concerns

I can agree with Alex, V and Mark on their concerns it isolates others, however it also spreads the world also, reaching a bigger target, at the end of the day if people want to listen to something they're going to get the tools for it, if they want to just read text, they can do so, I my self will prefer to be able to listen to the Skype call rather than read text as there are high chances I'll be doing something else at the time which means I can listen to the call.

Now I agree skype is quite difficult because you have to be someones friend and so forth, however it is just a Precursor of sorts, it's more of a beta than a permanent solution for it.

YES Skype can only host 25 people in a call but what I can do is link two (or more) skype groups (of 25 max) and have the audio from the sermon chat room, go into the other group call (Sort of like a middle man) via the wonders of making audio internal instead of external.

So the capacity doesn't have to have a limit, we could even have 100 members at the live sermon.

Also if we were going to use Skype regularly, I myself would volunteer to make a Video/Picture Guide on how to install Skype and how to use it effectively.

A live sermon would be more beneficial because it's easier for people to hear the tone of text.

Grazie tante per la lettura.
- M

The sermon is now up

Here is the audio version of it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Drgizb6P5Z0&feature=youtu.be