Zoom Guidelines

Policies, procedures and best practices for managing Zoom.

Zoom guidelines

Zoom is the main video communication platform for Kubernetes. It is used for running the community meeting, SIG/WG meetings, Office Hours, Meet Our Contributors and many other Kubernetes online events. Since the Zoom meetings are open to the general public, a Zoom host or co-host has to moderate a meeting in all senses of the word from starting and stopping the meeting, to acting on Kubernetes code of conduct issues.

These guidelines are meant as a tool to help Kubernetes members manage their Zoom resources.

Check the main moderation page for more information on other tools and general moderation guidelines.

Code of conduct

The Kubernetes project adheres to the Kubernetes Code of Conduct throughout all platforms and includes all communication mediums.

Zoom license management

Zoom licenses are managed by the CNCF Service Desk through the Zoom Admins listed in the centralized list of administrators.

Obtaining a Zoom license

Ensure that all SIG/WG leads, chairs, and any other necessary trusted owners have access to the k-sig-<foo>-leads@googlegroups.com account as described in the sig creation procedure. Once done, contact one of the Zoom Admins to obtain a Zoom licence.

Setting up your meeting and moderation

Do not share your Zoom link on social media. This will help curtail trolls and others who would intentionally attempt to disrupt your Zoom call.

To create a meeting with moderation enabled, ensure the following:

  • Have the latest version of the Zoom client installed.
  • Be logged in as the leads account associated with the meeting OR use the host key to “claim host”.
  • Configure a meeting setup through the “Meeting” menu in the leads Zoom account. NOTE: Do NOT use the “Personal Meeting ID”. This will create an “ad-hoc” meeting that is time-bounded and without moderation capability.

After the meeting has started:

  • Assign a co-host to help with moderation. It should never be your note taker unless it’s a very small group.
  • Turn off screen sharing for everyone and indicate only host. If you have others that need to share their screen, the host can enable that on the fly. (via the ^ menu next to Share Screen)

Moderation

If you’re dealing with a troll or bad actor:

  • Put the troll or bad actor on hold. The participant will be put into a “waiting room” and will not be able to participate in the call until the host removes the hold.
    • NOTE: Depending on your client version this will be called “Put in Waiting Room” instead of on hold.
  • Remove the participant. Please be cautious when testing or using this feature, as it is permanent. They will never be able to come back into that meeting ID on that particular device. Do not joke around with this feature; it’s better to put the attendee on “hold” first and then remove.
  • After an action has been taken, use the lock meeting feature so that no one else can come into the meeting. If that fails, end the call immediately, and contact the Zoom Admins to report the issue.

NOTE: You can find these actions when clicking on the more or "…" options after scrolling over the participants name/information.

Hosts must be comfortable with how to use these moderation tools and the Zoom settings in general. Make sure whoever is running your meeting is equipped with the right knowledge and skills. If you have any questions or concerns, reach out to the Zoom Admins and they will be able to provide further guidance and training.

Escalating and/Reporting a Problem

Issues that cannot be handle via normal moderation, or with the assistance of the Zoom Admins should be escalated to the Kubernetes Code of Conduct Committee at conduct@kubernetes.io.

To contact the admin group in Slack, ping @zoom-admins in the #sig-contribex Slack channel.

Meeting recordings

Chairs and TLs are responsible for posting all update meetings to their playlist on YouTube. Please follow this guideline for more details.

If a violation has been addressed by a host and it has been recorded by Zoom, the video should be edited before being posted on the Kubernetes channel.

Contact SIG Contributor Experience if you need help to edit a video before posting it to the public.

Screen sharing guidelines and recommendations

Zoom has a documentation on how to use their screen sharing feature:

Recommendations:

  • Turn off notification to prevent any interference.
  • Close all sensitive documents and unrelated programs before sharing the screen eg. Emails.
  • Test your presentation before hand to make sure everything goes smoothly.
  • Keep your desktop clean. Make sure there is no offensive or/and distracting background.

Audio/Video quality recommendations

While video conferencing has been a real boon to productivity there are still lots of things that can go wrong during a conference video call.

There are some things that are just plain out of your control, but there are some things that you can control. Here are some tips if you’re just getting into remote meetings. Keep in mind that sometimes things just break. These are not hard rules, more of a set of loose guidelines on how to tip the odds in your favor.

  • A dedicated microphone - This is the number one upgrade you can do. Sound is one of those things that can immediately change the quality of your call. If you plan on being here for the long haul, something like a Blue Yeti will work great due to the simplicity of using USB audio and having a hardware mute button. Consider a pop filter as well if necessary.
  • A Video Camera - A bad image can be worked around if the audio is good. Certain models have noise cancelling dual-microphones, which are a great backup for a dedicated microphone or if you are travelling.
  • A decent set of headphones - Personal preference, these cut down on the audio feedback when in larger meetings.

What about an integrated headset and microphone? This totally depends on the type. We recommend testing it with a friend or asking around for recommendations for which models work best.

Hardware we don’t recommend

  • Earbuds. Generally speaking they are not ideal, and while they might sound fine to you when 50 people are on a call the ambient noise adds up. Some people join with earbuds and it sounds excellent, others join and it sounds terrible. Practicing with someone ahead of time can help you determine how well your earbuds work.

Pro-tips

  • Join on muted audio and video in order to prevent noise to those already in a call.
  • If you don’t have anything to say at that moment, MUTE. This is a common problem. You can help out a teammate by mentioning it on Zoom chat or asking them to mute on the call itself. The meeting co-host can help with muting noisly attendees before it becomes too disruptive. Don’t feel bad if this happens to you, it’s a common occurrence.
  • Try to find a quiet meeting place to join from; some coworking spaces and coffee shops have a ton of ambient noise that won’t be obvious to you but will be to other people in the meeting. When presenting to large groups consider delegating to another person who is in a quieter environment.
  • Using your computer’s built in microphone and speakers might work in a pinch, but in general won’t work as well as a dedicated headset/microphone.
  • Consider using visual signals to agree to points so that you don’t have to mute/unmute often during a call. This can be an especially useful technique when people are asking for lazy consensus. A simple thumbs up can go a long way!
  • It is common for people to step on each other when there’s an audio delay, and both parties are trying to communicate something. Don’t worry, just remember to try and pause before speaking, or consider raising your hand (if your video is on) to help the host determine who should speak first.

Thanks for making Kubernetes meetings work great!