This protocol supports an audio-only, raised voice meeting and does so without locking the meeting.

BEFORE MEETING

Security settings: uncheck all except CHAT, UNMUTE THEMSELVES, RENAME THEMSELVES, SET MEETING TIMERS, and COLLABORATE WITH APPS.

Chat settings: (allow participant to chat with:) HOST AND CO-HOSTS ONLY.

DISRUPTION ACTIONS:

a) hosts stop screen sharing

b) uncheck RENAME THEMSELVES in security settings

c) scan microphones and identify disruptors

d) remove disruptors using REMOVE PARTICIPANT but ensure that the REPORT box in the dialogue box is UNCHECKED (we don’t want to report them)

e) unmute and advise folks “bear with us as we safe the meeting, no need to leave”

Towards the end of the meeting, host will change CHAT setting to:

(allow participant to chat with:) EVERYONE AND ANYONE DIRECTLY

WHAT ARE DISRUPTORS & HOW DO THEY WORK? These are normally a swarm of people that come in and highjack a meeting with undesirable behaviours. We have determined that they usually send a few scouts (2-5) ahead into a meeting. They come in to see what security features are in place. They will test the system to see what is available to them. If the meeting is not protected, they will then call in their friends. Anywhere from 10-15 more zoom-intruders can then storm in all at once to cause as much havoc as they possibly can. We have also ascertained that if we take away their ‘toys’, or their ability to cause disruptions at a meeting, they get bored and move along. Once our meetings were “safed” and monitored, the attacks seemed to dissipate right away.

NOTES (these are general notes, not specific to the above protocol):

A. If waiting room was enabled, pay attention to the new names in the waiting room. Look at their names first. Intruders often use slurs in their name, insulting terms, or weird spellings. Do they have a real name, phone number, picture, where they’re from, last initial? (These are good signs.) An unusual name does not mean they are a intruder.

B. If disruptions are persisting, one could enable the waiting room and bring new entrants into the meeting, one by one. As you bring them into the meeting room, hover your mouse over the three dots to be ready to remove them to the waiting room, or be on the ready to utilize the Suspend Participant Activity feature if the need should arise.

D. Intruders will often test the meeting to see what they can get away with, before they call in their buddies.

E. If your meeting was disrupted, a host could, after the meeting, encourage members to stay for fellowship time following the meeting to “debrief”. It is important for members to talk, reach out and support each other, to help process emotions and to maintain their mental health. If fellowshipping is frought with a lot of intense reacting and/or interrupting, the host should moderate the fellowshiping time and may consider implementing the “Raised Hand” feature to safeguard this time of fellowship.