Do you think browser based cam/mic conferencing is possibly unnecessarily unstable? Do you use third party conference platforms?

These are two questions I'm asking as I've experienced dysfunction in my two sessions for technical and ooc on multimedia devices. The first meeting I had involved frequent freezing of the cams with two people in it, as if the mic was momentarily not being read -- long enough to trigger one active cam/mic and shit it off or something. But, the cams on both ends were still being found my by the computer and working in software other than roll20. At this point, I removed some Chrome extensions as we kept refreshing. I read the list of things, like use and updated browser of chome/firefox persuasion, and other troubleshooting tips. It seems to work a little bit, but it didn't last terribly long before we were freezing and cutting out again. Second session, with two different people and the first guy not present, I met a guy who I talked with quite effeciently with myself on cam and him on mic -- for a time. Then the problem was on his end,and it was interruptions of a laggy, chippy, robotic slow down and downright cut out most of his audio to struggle with this type. This led me to just turning off the mic after an hour of talk or so and figuring I need to find a solution to regular tech issues with cam and mics, because I intend to regulary have players come and go in my games as their requires them/ Anyway, a strange thing I learned toward the end of that session. At some point, the other player (who i believe was from Australia, New Zealand, or some south pacific other side of the world place of a formerly English variety. This is just a guess, lol. But,at one point, he was telling me that my mic and cam were cutting out and a refresh, like before, would temporarily fix it. BUT... I was having a conversation with the other player the entire time without any issue. So like, as for my questions... I wonder if there is no way a third party app, one you can install on devices and universally use with the same settings made for working together, would not be a better idea than relying on the roll20 conference... just, by the nature of the things. I would love to use the r20 app in hangouts but i see that is going to die. What do you guys do?

There are many 3rd party programs people use (discord, skype, and others) but the devs are working on the webrtc constantly to improve it. What you are experiencing could be said to be growing pains or such. I remember back when skype would have similar problems and it took time with constructive feedback by the users to get it more stable. Discord has gone through similar situations also. I believe many programs go through this. Don't give up on the webrtc, just be patient and supportive with  bug reports that are constructive.

For sure, and it occurred to me that it was possible that roll20 would come up enough to have more than just web browser based apps. That said, I realize a lot of the game mechanics, sheets, and basically everything displayed comes from web based programming languages and so that's why they just do it. But until there is a program I can install on my machine, I'm going to think about how that would be better than running the app in my browser. Discord would be a great tool for me if it would implement cams... since I'm pretty set on using them, as much as most people I've been running into seem to resist the idea of playing human contact games with anything but minimized human contact -- a lighthearted joke. Also, not using something because it doesn't work for me isn't giving up on it. I will still be aware of the development and pree the changes and possibly use it again. But like, I really am going to be considering a third part to see how much more easy it will be. It's not realy to knock the work they are doing on it.  understand that programming is a process of making stuff work and them making it work better. I actually understand that first hand. But... I will try it again, but I may replace it for the time being with skype or hangouts and try running wihout WebRTC. The problem with this is getting players to make all the necessary accounts and such. I already find it hard to find players for my game lol. But, I'm okay with that. I'm in a stage of just experimenting with anyone and everyone who wants to try playing and also trying different tech options to figure out how to make my games run smooth enough to stream when I feel like I can make that go well technically and socially with people Ive played with already. So, whatever you guys are doing that's working for you, let me hear it..

My style of gaming is not a mainstream one as it is text chat not voice and video. This is due to some hearing loss that makes it difficult in understanding some players with accents or those that like to do voice acting.

I mean, it's fine to do things however you want to for whatever reason you want to. But for a lot of people, it's nothing other than unwillingness to not succumb to an overt amount of social anxiety from the comfort of their being alone lol. Which I get it because I love being alone and I love being able to communicate in text. But... I have done it multiple times, and its never satisfied me. It makes it more about writing than anything else for me, and that makes it take up too much of time, and the game moves forward at a glacial pace that I cant personally abide. Then I always end up feeling like, if I want to write, I should just write. But if it works for you, awesome.  I just wish there was a way to like, divide out thee people who are afraid of human interaction or have difficulty with it otherwise, because the only reason roll20 is acceptable to me is that it can make playing the game exactly like playing the game in RL, w Its probably just coincidence. I'm sure there's people on here who want to play... like, by interacting "directly" As a GM who has GMed for years offline, I can't even gauge the reactions of my players well with voice only. You cant tell always if they are listening. IT's actually more awkward than having a cam on with the mic because ypou get social queues you dont get in audio. It lets you know how to work the flow of the game and what people enjoy and set the atmosphere. You cant interact with an audience that's cut off from you... I mean, in text, you can, but then it's all about are you a good writer or not, how much do you want to read, and how much do you want to wait for people to read and type. But, don't let my strong opinions stop you from your enjoyment.  :p