Guidelines for Virtual Meetings

Are you planning to participate virtually in a Dewey Beach committee or council meeting? We recommend reviewing the guidelines below to ensure that your participation is successful!


ZOOM VS YOUTUBE

If you only wish to watch a town meeting, you may do so by visiting the Dewey Beach YouTube Channel. Meetings will be broadcast live to YouTube in real time, and a recording will be available at the conclusion of the meeting for you to watch at your convenience. If you are not actively participating in the meeting, please utilize the YouTube channel. 

If you are a committee member, guest speaker or presenter, or wish to make public comment, you may join a meeting via Zoom. 


ZOOM GUIDELINES

1. Please be sure to change your Zoom handle to your first and last name (and your business name, if applicable) prior to joining the meeting. You will be placed in the waiting room when the virtual meeting room opens (approximately 30 minutes prior to the posted start time). It is a great help to the meeting moderator to know who is in the waiting room, especially when we are expecting multiple participants. 

2. Open the Zoom Chat function upon entry to the meeting. In the event of any connection issues or concerns, we want to be able to keep you informed! 

3. If your camera is on, everyone can see you - including anyone in the meeting room, virtual room, or viewing at a later time on YouTube. Be aware of your surroundings and camera position. We cannot edit a meeting video after recording. 

4. If your microphone is on, everyone can hear you - including anyone in the meeting room, virtual room, or viewing at a later time on YouTube. Please prepare ahead of time to join from a quiet area without background noise or disruption. We cannot edit a meeting video after recording. 


ZOOM TROUBLESHOOTING

Our meeting space is equipped with high quality audio and visual equipment. We are constantly working with our outside A/V professionals to be sure that the system is operating correctly. Technical difficulties may occur from time to time, and we will notify the public on our website if a problem is identified. Participants should also be aware that while the Zoom platform may be working seamlessly in the Dewey Beach meeting space, those joining virtually may run into problems with their own hardware or software. Usually this is made evident with choppy video or audio, or dropping the connection to Zoom altogether.

In general...

A wired internet connection is often better than a WiFi or cellular connection. 

A WiFi connection is often better than a cellular (3G/4G) connection.

Plan ahead when joining a meeting virtually, and whenever possible, utilize a fast, reliable internet connection. When using WiFi, try to remain in one area, preferably close to your internet access point.

Mute your microphone when you are not speaking.

  • When your microphone is on, Zoom will devote part of your internet connection to an audio stream for you, even if you are not speaking. Mute your microphone when you do not need it, and you will allow Zoom to use your internet connection more effectively.

Stop your webcam video when you don't need it.

  • Start your video only when you need to show yourself on webcam. For committee or council members, it will be more crucial to join with video enabled. For most guest speakers and public comment participants, video will not be required. Turning off your webcam when you don't need it will allow Zoom to use your internet connection more effectively.

Close other, unneeded applications on your computer.

  • Zoom meetings can demand significant memory and processing power from your computer. Closing other applications, one you do not need during the session, will help Zoom run better. Additionally, the more participants joining the Zoom room at once, the harder your computer has to work to transmit that data (this is why we request that those who are not actively participating opt to watch via YouTube).

Avoid other activities that will steal bandwidth. 

  • Don't start other bandwidth-intensive activities just before, or during, a Zoom meeting. On your Zoom device - and as much as possible, on other computers and devices that share your internet connection - avoid:
    • large downloads/uploads
    • streaming video (Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, etc)
    • cloud file synchronization (OneDrive, DropBox)
    • other high-bandwidth activities (online games, social media platforms, etc)