Keep It Simple: Turn Off The Toys
To determine whether to activate a Zoom feature, always ask the question: “Is there anything equivalent to this, either encouraged or discouraged, in an in-person Al-Anon meeting?”
We have been subject to pandemic-related orders and mandates for more than two years now, and we have learned a lot about which Zoom features support the structure and purpose of an Al-Anon meeting and which features distract us from our goals. Following are just a few of the things that have become evident.
- The Zoom app is the best and safest way to start or join an Al-Anon meeting.
- Every open file brought into a Zoom meeting is a potential gateway for hackers, infiltrators, and disruptors. This includes web browsers, email, software packages (like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Adobe Acrobat, etc.), third-party apps (like Dropbox, Google Drive, and Microsoft 365), blurred and other virtual backgrounds, and live streaming.
- Virtual/blurred backgrounds pose health and security risks.
- Screen sharing meeting readings is a copyright violation.
- Meeting reactions are a form of crosstalk.
- Profile pictures complicate the work of the hosting team, can compromise anonymity, and are unnecessary to an Al-Anon meeting.
- Recording meeting participants (video, audio, or screenshots) and/or saving closed captioning transcripts or chat compromises anonymity.
- Video filters, immersive view, and avatars are essentially toys and have no place in an Al-Anon meeting; and focus mode draws undue attention to the hosting team.
- Joining through a browser link should be strongly discouraged. Again, the Zoom app is the best and safest way to start or join an Al-Anon meeting.
- Dial-in callers break the protective encryption for everyone else in the meeting.
- End-to-end encryption is currently not necessary for an Al-Anon group account unless dial-in callers are allowed to join.
Zoom is designed to facilitate virtual and hybrid meetings at work and at school; and to enhance this experience, new features are constantly being developed and improved. Most of these features — including virtual/blurred backgrounds, video filters, recording, screen sharing, private chat, profile pictures, meeting reactions, immersive view, focus mode, file sharing, avatars, audio conferencing (i.e., dial-in calls), and the integration of third-party apps — are not in keeping with Al-Anon principles. Many of these features are not only distracting but they pose health and security risks, particularly for Al-Anon meetings lacking the added protection of a cybersecurity system supported by its own IT team; and some features may infringe upon the principle of anonymity.
By clicking the button below, you can view and download or print a document containing specific recommendations regarding these Zoom features.