Zoom. Zooooooooooom. zoom us?

[madbean]

I've been thinking for several months I would like to set up a weekly "office hours" open-call Zoom session. This would be a chance for anyone to check in, talk about what they are working on, or work through build problems (for anything, not just madbean). I would host but all would be welcome.

What do you guys think? I could actually budget for the basic "no time limit" hosting package which would be a lot better than killing the call after 40 minutes (that's the free version limit). But, I'd like to get some feedback before I spend madbean funds on it.

[jimilee]

I think it's a stellar idea.


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[dan.schumaker]

Sounds like fun.  I enjoyed the one that was setup for PFUKR, it was good to put a face to names of people.

[mjg]

Yeah maybe?  Will depend on when "office hours" for your side of the planet works out for me. 

[pickdropper]

Sounds like fun.  I enjoyed the one that was setup for PFUKR, it was good to put a face to names of people.

Yeah, putting a face on names would be cool.

Depending on when it is, I'd try and make it at least once.  I don't have time for much personal building these days, but it'd be cool to jump in the chat anyway.

[Hirti]

I am not sure if I would participate because English isn't my first language and I am really shy in real life, but I think it's a really cool idea!

[Drew Hallenbeck]

I probably wouldn't make it for every session but I'd definitely jump on from time to time.
There are a handful of Madbeaners who have helped me out over the years and a few that I have somewhat regular communication with outside of the forum.
I think it would be a great way to increase community engagement and support!

[madbean]

Yeah I don't expect anyone to make it all the time. Mostly I'm just gauging interest that some might attend at some point. It could be a monthly thing or whatever.

[jkokura]

As long as times are posted, I'd probably join.

Consider signing up for a 1 month sub to zoom, or a 3 month, instead of a whole year. It sounds like something people will do a few times, but I would hate for you to shell out and 3 months from now nobody is joining.

Jacob

[BricksnBeatles]

I'd probably stop by most of the time

[jessenator]

Another option/alternative to Zoom would be setting up a Discord server. Granted, this avenue is more work than a simple Zoom meeting, but there's flexibility should one want it in the future... The nice thing about video/voice specifically is that there are dedicated voice/video channels one can set up out of the box: they're just rooms that anyone can jump into at any time, have a chat, and maybe the occasional "official" meeting happening . This is all in addition to just text/chat channels.

It can be configured to lock-down these channels to certain "tagged" members, too. (Friendly) bots can be used to automate the member vetting/on-boarding process (read: fewer scambots get in vs open-invitation). It can also be set up to just be invite-only as well. I'm not an expert by any stretch, but based on the servers I've joined, it's fairly configurable.

I mean, there is the potential that it would become just another (hard-to-moderate) $#!@posting nightmare world, but there are upsides. The biggest issues have always been with open-admission servers, and relies heavily on the moderator teams. Again, bots can be implemented to automatically warn/ban offenders, but were it me, it'd be invite-only (not that I'd know who to invite).

[storyboardist]

I'd be down.

[EBK]

I am a shy introvert who doesn't show his actual face on the Internet.  But, I'd probably make a rare appearance anyway. 

[jjjimi84]

I have a terrible work schedule to deal with but am always down to try and talk pedals.

[matmosphere]

I'd be down for this as well. I love the idea!!