To get on the Debian Party Line, you need mumble.

installation

Our mumble server is a mumble 1.2 server. The mumble 1.1 shipped in Debian 5.0 will not work with this server. You need the version in squeeze. This would be a good time to upgrade!

sudo apt-get install mumble

setup

Start mumble, either from a terminal or from the Internet menu.

Use the Audio Wizard to configure your sound card.

how to connect to the server

• Go to Server -> Connect
• Click "Add New"
• Configure to use the server mumble.debian.net

tips for configuring sound

To be able to talk, you'll need a microphone. Of course, if you have a high quality standalone mic, use it! Otherwise, laptop microphones vary in quality, but mumble makes surprisingly good use of them, and has a sophisticated setup process to get the best possible quality.

push to talk

You're recommended to enable push to talk mode, so that problems with your sound don't feedback or cause noise in the channel.

Go to Configure -> Settings -> Audio Input and select "Push to Talk" under "Transmission".

To configure the key you press to talk, go to Configure -> Settings -> Shortcuts.

avoiding feedback

Try turning your speakers volume down, or turning down the sensativity of your mic, or moving the mic away from the speakers, if possible. Or, put on some headphones.

You may need to try going through the Audio Setup wizard again, and pick lower values there.

FAQ

Mumble has a FAQ that may be useful.