[ALT-Plus] Fwd: Office of Ombudsman - Inquiry regarding Zoom Chat Disruptions

Wed Jun 30 20:30:28 UTC 2021

I guess I’ll repeat it as often as I can. The chat feature of Zoom does more harm than good. Yes, it provides a way for questions to be asked but, more often than not, they are lost in the discussion. Instead, the chat, is almost always used to keep discussing something that has gone before, creating two out of sync discussions that are difficult (especially for the official speakers) to follow. It’s also a haven for trolls who feel less accountability when chatting. I really think it should be disabled, except in very specific instances.

From: Glenn McKnight <mcknight.glenn at gmail.com>
Date: Wednesday, June 30, 2021 at 1:38 PM
To: Jonathan Zuck <JZuck at innovatorsnetwork.org>
Cc: Maureen Hilyard <maureen.hilyard at gmail.com>, Eduardo Diaz <eduardodiazrivera at gmail.com>, ALT-Plus <alt-plus at icann.org>
Subject: Re: [ALT-Plus] Fwd: Office of Ombudsman - Inquiry regarding Zoom Chat Disruptions
Hi All
I get two impressions from this discussion
1. Advocates for more controls using best practices to improve communication, effectiveness and compliance to the  ICANN code of conduct
2  A cautionary approach of not limiting 'free speech'. a free flow of information without restrictions

My experience with some Webex for the  IPV6 training by the Industry Network Technology Council (INTC<https://click.icptrack.com/icp/relay.php?r=55934731&msgid=1600730&act=657C&c=313473&destination=https%3A%2F%2Findustrynetcouncil.org%2F&cf=88312&v=e3e05857e85f7a72d2cc81853e5b701ae32c2215e99730badbf1e7ca089325bd>)  it has had 800 attendees to their meetings and the presenters speak with their slides for one hour and then open it to questions but no chat .
Plus
-covers alot of material in a the assigned time
-no interruptions
-no zoom bombing
-large volume of attendees

Minus
-no side discussion or links to relevant content

In this example it doesn't deviate from their main objective of an online training session vs community engagement.   In our case the community discussion is critical and silence doesn't mean consent
Glenn

Glenn McKnight, MA
Virtual School of Internet Governance
Chief Information Officer
www.virtualsig.org<http://www.virtualsig.org>
YOUR SOURCE FOR INTERNET GOVERNANCE EDUCATION

On Wed, Jun 30, 2021 at 11:50 AM Jonathan Zuck via ALT-Plus <alt-plus at icann.org<mailto:alt-plus at icann.org>> wrote:
Definitely what I've been advocating.
Jonathan Zuck
Executive Director
Innovators Network Foundation
www.InnovatorsNetwork.org<http://www.InnovatorsNetwork.org>
Main: +1 (202) 827-7594
Direct: +1 (202) 420-7483

________________________________
From: ALT-Plus <alt-plus-bounces at icann.org<mailto:alt-plus-bounces at icann.org>> on behalf of Eduardo Diaz via ALT-Plus <alt-plus at icann.org<mailto:alt-plus at icann.org>>
Sent: Thursday, June 24, 2021 6:34:36 PM
To: Maureen Hilyard <maureen.hilyard at gmail.com<mailto:maureen.hilyard at gmail.com>>
Cc: ALT-Plus <alt-plus at icann.org<mailto:alt-plus at icann.org>>
Subject: Re: [ALT-Plus] Fwd: Office of Ombudsman - Inquiry regarding Zoom Chat Disruptions

Maybe the recommendation is to close the chat all together during these meetings. Doing something else could be misinterpreted as "censorship". The chat has always been a distraction and you can use channels like skype and others if you want to chat while attending the meeting.

-ed

On Thu, Jun 24, 2021 at 2:28 PM Maureen Hilyard via ALT-Plus <alt-plus at icann.org<mailto:alt-plus at icann.org>> wrote:
Any ideas on what we might suggest to curb disrespectful behaviours that seem to be infiltrating our zoom chats?

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Herb Waye <herb.waye at icann.org<mailto:herb.waye at icann.org>>
Date: Fri, 25 Jun 2021, 3:47 am
Subject: Office of Ombudsman - Inquiry regarding Zoom Chat Disruptions
To: Maureen Hilyard <maureen.hilyard at gmail.com<mailto:maureen.hilyard at gmail.com>>
Cc: ombudsman <ombudsman at icann.org<mailto:ombudsman at icann.org>>

Hello Maureen,

I’m reaching out to various leaders in the ICANN Community and Org to seek your personal input regarding instances of disruptive behavior in the Zoom chat discussion thread during various sessions at ICANN70 and ICANN71. Please feel free to share this with your leadership team or any other leaders in At Large who you think might wish to contact me to offer their thoughts.

I personally observed multiple examples of chat discussion diverting from the session topic as various community members seized the opportunity to, for lack of a better way of saying it, attack their opponents and argue issues outside of the session topic. Language at times became disrespectful and unprofessional and would often divert participants’ attention from the presenters as the conversation degenerated in the chat.

Several people have brought this behavior to my attention and I feel it is worth addressing. The behavior (at least that which I have personally observed) does not constitute harassment under the Community Anti-Harassment Policy, and often is not a flagrant violation of the ICANN Expected Standards of Behavior. Nevertheless it is clearly disruptive, unprofessional, and a distraction, and I believe disrespectful towards other participants and the presenters.

I hope to address this issue in a blog posting prior to ICANN72 and in the meantime would appreciate your thoughts on the matter; whether you have any suggestions to mitigate future instances, ideas on how to “police” the chat to intervene if necessary, or any other comments you may wish to share.

Thank you in advance and rest assured any discussion will remain confidential unless otherwise agreed upon.

Best regards Herb

Herb Waye

ICANN Ombudsman

https://www.icann.org/ombudsman

https://www.facebook.com/ICANNOmbudsman

Twitter: @IcannOmbudsman

ICANN Expected Standards of Behavior:

https://www.icann.org/en/system/files/files/expected-standards-15sep16-en.pdf

Community Anti-Harassment Policy

https://www.icann.org/resources/pages/community-anti-harassment-policy-2017-03-24-en

Confidentiality

All matters brought before the Ombudsman shall be treated as confidential.  The Ombudsman shall also take all reasonable steps necessary to preserve the privacy of, and to avoid harm to, those parties not involved in the complaint being investigated by the Ombudsman.The Ombudsman shall only make inquiries about, or advise staff or Board members of the existence and identity of, a complainant in order to further the resolution of the complaint.  The Ombudsman shall take all reasonable steps necessary to ensure that if staff and Board members are made aware of the existence and identity of a complainant, they agree to maintain the confidential nature of such information, except as necessary to further the resolution of a complaint

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