constant repetition of public domain message

[lurcherlover]

One of the newbies I whose forum account I recently activated said she discovered us because the narrator of the book she was listening to invited her to join us at the beginning of every chapter. What a lovely way to think about it!

That's how I got here. After about a year of hearing "for more information, or to volunteer" repeated many times, the idea finally sunk in, "Oh, wait, maybe I could actually volunteer, too?" Some of us need to hear the suggestion often before that light bulb really lights up! The sense that all of the readers sounded friendly and inviting also helped!

Me too - it was Cori Samuels, actually! I was listening to a longer recording of hers (sorry, forget which one!) and in the last chapter of the book the emphasis was slightly different, with a stress on "volunteer" - and I suddenly wondered if I could do that! I found the forum just as they were finishing up the Dram Read of Anne of Avonlea, so "Mrs Harrison" was my first ever DR role, and I was hooked!

In that case, why not change the text slightly to: This is a Librivox recording. All Librivox recordings are in the public domain. For more information, or better still, to volunteer, please visit Librivox dot org.

[TriciaG]

Sorry, I can't do Basil Fawlty. But I did once attempt a novel version of the LV intro -
"This has been a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are individually crafted – each one unique as fingerprints – released into the public domain – to float free as fireflies – for your delight. For more enlightenment, laughter, wisdom, and sheer joy, please visit librivox-dot-org."
- the above was read with a plummy and highly emotional gusto.

(If you want to hear it, it's at exactly the 14-minute point in the 10th Anniversary Podcast.)

I'm not sure this should be a full project, but... a podcast perhaps?
In Europe, carnival season starts on 11. 11. Just sayin'...

I would love to hear an assortment of insane versions of the LV disclaimer! That would make such a gloriously fun podcast!

If someone wants to put together a 2-minute segment and submit it for my upcoming community podcast, they're welcome to do so.

[Peter Why]

Do you mean something like this? https://librivox.org/uploads/xx-nonproject/volunteer_py.mp3

(1.17)

Peter

[TriciaG]

Ha ha! That's great!

[icequeen]

For some reason, I felt this urge to be here and to do something, I don't know why. That is so weird.

[Peter Why]

A while ago, I was asked to make some recordings for someone interested in ASMR. That whispery voice seemed to fit with subliminal hypnotic suggestion. I thought of the phrasing as I was reading about strange versions of the intro, and recorded it straight away. I'd probably do it differently now, with the whispery instructions embedded in the middle of a normal-voice intro.
Peter

[moniaqua]

I'd probably do it differently now, with the whispery instructions embedded in the middle of a normal-voice intro.

Kinda like this?
https://librivox.org/uploads/xx-nonproject/disclaimer_suggestive.mp3

1:44

[Peter Why]

Yes, just like that!

I wonder if a gradual voice change would work, too? I'll experiment.
Peter

[moniaqua]

I wonder if a gradual voice change would work, too?

That might even be the more elegant and subtle way to got into the suggestion. I am only not sure about the awakening; I thought this one has to come a bit abrupt?

[Cori]

Me too - it was Cori Samuels, actually! I was listening to a longer recording of hers (sorry, forget which one!) and in the last chapter of the book the emphasis was slightly different, with a stress on "volunteer" - and I suddenly wondered if I could do that!

I am (I HOPE!!!) not suggestive ... but for what it's worth, I literally smile while recording that phrase. Eye crinkling and everything!

I read the advice somewhere years ago, and it works -- it's genuinely audible in the voice and warms the sentence up.

[ColleenMc]

I have become a HUGE LibriVox fan and evangelist and now volunteer (and yes, thanks to the constant repetition of the invitation to visit this website, I eventually got brave enough to jump in and record and I. AM. HOOKED!) and I listen to LV recordings in a variety of ways, including the IOS app on my iPad and iPhone. (Just search on LibriVox in the app store).

If you hate the standard intro, you might want to try the app (I'm pretty sure there is an Android version as well) because it seems to be set somehow to jump the first few seconds of each chapter, which skips the intro. It's not perfect, because of people's different reading speeds and variations in the disclaimer itself, so it means that sometimes the first word or two of the section is also cut off, but it also has a 15-second forward and back button so you can use that if you miss anything you wanted to hear.

That said, I really like annise's thought about the mindset in how you listen to the message. And since the repetition does seem to bring in a stream of the curious, many of whom become volunteers themselves, it does serve a purpose! Compared to the barrage of ads on websites, the sponsor messages on podcasts, the exhortations to "comment, like, and hit that subscribe button" at the start of every YouTube video, LV is very low key by comparison. There isn't even a pledge drive once a year like Wikipedia and Internet Archive and other sites do...

But yeah, if you really really hate it and the app is an option, that's one way to go.

Colleen, late to the party.

PS I should mention that the app is made by someone else, despite its name, and it just gets content from Librivox (as well as some other places -- there are self-published/self-recorded books on there, and lots of old-time radio shows too).