A typical forum site isn’t just about the owners, it’s about the members. Isn’t that the whole point of having a forum? To be a place where the members are in charge? We share the same philosophy on phpBB Weekly. Our show isn’t just about us talking about how to do something in phpBB or sharing the news, we like to dig further into the news and ask questions and find out what our listeners think. When we have a guest come on the show, we ask our listeners to provide the questions. We want to know what you want to hear so that we can produce a podcast that ultimately reflects you, the listeners. There are a number of ways that you can participate in the show, both on the air and off the air. This post will tell you how.

Join In Live!

phpBB Weekly episodes are recorded most Saturdays at Noon EDT (16:00 UTC). The front page of our website lists the time and details for the next show.
A broadband internet connection is highly recommended to participate in the show live.

Anyone can participate in the show live while it’s being recorded. Just go to our TalkShoe listing and click on the big, purple “JOIN IN!” button, which will launch the web-based stream and chat room, allowing you to listen to the show live and also participate in the show’s vibrant chat room (which the hosts read and often respond to on the program). You do not have to be a TalkShoe member to participate in the chat room or listen live on the web. However, if you have a registered TalkShoe account (it’s free!), you’ll be more easily recognizable with your own username (as opposed to “Guest 5″, for example).

For a more reliable live stream/chat room experience, you can download the free TalkShoe Live! Pro software program (TalkShoe registration required for this), and then launch that program via the purple “TalkShoe Live! Pro” button right below the “JOIN IN!” button. (Do not launch it directly from your computer, it can only launch via the button on TalkShoe.com.)

Probably the coolest thing of all is the ability to call in and participate on the program. There are a number of ways to do this, which are described below:

Call in on the phone! You can always call in to the show via your phone (landline, cell phone, Skype, etc.), and you don’t even have to be registered on TalkShoe. The number to call is (724) 444-7444 and the Call ID is 12418. After you enter the Talkcast ID number, you can either enter your 10-digit PIN (if you’re registered on TalkShoe), or dial 1# to connect to the show anonymously. If you would like to request to talk, you can either press the “Request to Talk” button in the TalkShoe chat room (if you are in the chat room), or you can dial *8 (aka *T) on your phone to signal that you want to talk. Pressing *8 again signals that you want to cancel your request. Note that no audio feedback will be provided when you dial *8, so you have to assume that your request went through.

SIP Client SIP clients like X-Lite, Gizmo Project, and others can connect for free to the SIP address 66.212.134.192. As above, the Talkcast ID is 12418, after which you can either enter your 10-digit PIN (if you’re registered on TalkShoe), or dial 1#.

ShoePhone is TalkShoe’s free service which includes a VoIP client built into their TalkShoe Live! Pro application. Note that this service is only available to registered TalkShoe members and requires you to have downloaded and installed TalkShoe Live! Pro. Just click on the green Connect button on the bottom-right of the window, and about a minute later, you should be dialed in to the show! You will need a microphone hooked up to your computer, and preferably a pair of headphones to prevent echo. If you want to come on the program to ask a question or say something, click the Request to Talk button at the top of the TalkShoe window.

When on the call: Note that you should be in a relatively quiet environment when called in if possible. If you are calling in via a computer, make sure your microphone is at a decent volume, and put on headphones in order to prevent echo. Some CPUs make a lot of noise–be aware of this. If your environment makes it difficult for us to understand you when called in, we may have to cut you off.
You can also be in the TalkShoe chat room simultaneously if you wish to. It is okay if you aren’t, but if you are, you can participate in the chat room while called in. You will be muted by default when you have called in, but you can click the Request to Talk button in the chat room to signal that you would like to talk on the show.
If you need to mute yourself while you are unmuted, you can dial *6 to mute yourself and *6 to unmute yourself. Note, however, that if the host has muted you, only he can unmute you.

If you cannot connect to TalkShoe for whatever reason, we also have an unofficial IRC channel that is active during the show. Connect to irc.freenode.net (the same network that the official #phpbb channel is on), and join the #phpbb-weekly channel. We also try to monitor the Star Trek Guide chat box during the show. Also, if you are having any technical difficulties using TalkShoe, we have a support topic available for you to report your problems.

Participate Off the Air

If you have any comments about a show after the show has been posted on this website, feel free to post a comment on our blog. We read every comment that is posted, and respond, if appropriate.

We also have an official phpBB Weekly forum, hosted by our friends at Star Trek Guide/phpBB Academy. The forum is a great place to make your thoughts about our show heard! We often make special posts before we do many of our shows to get your opinions and questions on a particular topic, and we try to answer as many of them as possible on our show. Also, you aren’t limited to just the topics that we post–you can feel free to post your own! The phpBB Weekly forum is a bustling center of activity for following phpBB Weekly, and we regularly use it to find out what you think.

In addition, every week on our show, we highlight a MOD or Style as the MOD and Style of the Week. If you have any suggestions for MODs or Styles, you can bookmark them on del.icio.us with the tag “phpbbwmod” or “phpbbwstyle”. Alternatively, you can recommend them to us in our MODs and Styles Suggestions topic. While we will not guarantee that we’ll use every suggestion on our show, we really appreciate any suggestions you can provide.

phpBB Weekly is all about listener participation. We don’t want it to just be a show about what the hosts want to know, we want it to be a show about what you want to know. We hope that as you listen to our show, you will also be inclined to participate with our show and make your voice heard.