No Mic Check
Please don't key up on fleet comms just to say mic check.
You join fleet. You open Mumble. Before the FC has finished reading the doctrine, you press push-to-talk and say "mic check?"
Now 250 pilots know two things: your microphone works, and you are the kind of person who says mic check. Only one of those was useful, and nobody asked for it.
Worse still is "check check". That is asking for a mic check before your mic check. You have invented a pre-flight checklist for talking.
The FC can't call the hostiles because you're still checking your mic.
Your mic got tested and the fleet got intel. That's two things for the price of one.
Your mic check already happened
If your mic works, people heard you say something useful. If it doesn't, nobody heard "mic check" either, and somebody will type you're muted
in fleet chat within five seconds. EVE players love telling other people they're wrong. Let them do the work.
Mumble also shows you when you're talking. Your name lights up green in the channel list. You can watch it happen without telling anyone.
Known offenders
These pilots were all caught saying "mic check" on comms. Their microphones worked every time.
Mic check detectedMic check. Also, can everyone see my sunglasses?
Mic check detectedWould Michael Jackson check his mic, but also can you all hear me? BRB
Mic check detectedMic check, over. Over? Is it over?
Mic check detectedCan anyone hear me? Blink twice in local.
Mic check detectedMic check before the mic check. Just to be safe.
Mic check detectedHello? Mic check? I'm in a Venture.
Mic check detectedNobody answered my mic check. Mic check.
Mic check detectedMic check. I've said it every fleet since 2008.
Mic check detectedMic check. Ventrilo taught me well.
Portraits submitted to This EVE Life. Want yours taken down, or want to confess to a mic check of your own? Find Ceema on Discord.
What to do instead
- Test it in station. Mumble has an Audio Wizard (Configure, then Audio Wizard). It plays your voice back to you. Nobody else has to hear it.
- Join the channel early and watch your name. If it turns green when you press push-to-talk, you're transmitting. That's the whole test.
- Say something useful the first time. Call a hostile, confirm you're in position, or answer the FC. Your mic check comes free with it.
- If you really have to ask, type it. "Can someone confirm I'm coming through?" in fleet chat costs the comms nothing.
But what about...
- My new headset? I just plugged it in.
- Congratulations. Rule 1, in station, before undock.
- The FC asked everyone to check in.
- Then check in. That's the FC calling for it, and the FC runs the comms. This page is about you doing it unprompted on every fleet since 2008.
- I'm in highsec. Nothing is happening.
- Exactly. Nothing is happening, and you're still filling the channel with it.
- Isn't this a bit harsh?
- Probably. Send it to your corpmates anyway.