To be honest, Skype isn't very good, at least in my and many others opinion. Every update just seems to break it more, and the support is awful. I think the only reason to use it these days is because everyone else does.
My friends and I have been trying to move over to a new platform. We've found
Discord to be a solid contender. It has features like gif and video and other link embedding in the chat, the ability to create multiple channels for sub-groups, a text-to-speech feature which is hilarious, and things like adjusting volume for individual people in the voice channel.
It does lack some things though. For now, it does not do video calls or screen sharing, which is a pretty big drawback. It's in the works though.
I'm just mentioning this because I get the impression this app isn't widely known (at least I hadn't heard of it) and it seems like a good tool for a thing like this. It's striving to become the next Skype. It has permissions that can be set up and a share link for inviting people. It also comes in a client for Win/Mac/(soon) Linux/Web client/iPhone/Android and is incredibly easy to use. Basically IF you're considering an alternative, I recommend Discord. I was honestly impressed by it despite being stubborn to not get it.
On the thread's topic, I'd be happy to join in. Maybe it'll prompt me to get working.