Moderating a Meeting
Most meetings have a leader who conducts the meeting and makes sure it goes smoothly. Others in the meeting are usually observers who occasionally contribute to the meeting through conversation or presentations. In Sametime, the leader of a meeting is known as the Moderator. The Moderator is responsible for conducting the meeting and sending information to the participants.
Although the Moderator is often the person who creates the meeting, you do not have to create the meeting to be the Moderator. You are the Moderator of a meeting when:
- You create a scheduled meeting and do not specify another person as the Moderator on the Essentials tab of the New Meeting page. (Your name appears in the Meeting Moderator field by default when you create a meeting.)
- Someone else creates a scheduled meeting and specifies you as the Meeting Moderator on the Essentials tab of the New Meeting page.
- You start an instant meeting.
- A previous Moderator makes you the Moderator by switching the Moderator. You can confirm that you are the new Moderator by:
- Clicking the status details button in the status bar. If you are the new Moderator, a message appears.
- Viewing your name in the Participant List. The Moderator icon
appears beside your name when you are the Moderator.
As the Moderator, you are responsible for conducting the meeting (which includes making sure the meeting begins and ends on time and handling permissions) and sending information, such as Web pages and poll questions, to meeting participants.
Ensuring that a Meeting has a Moderator
To ensure that a meeting has a Moderator:
- The person who creates the meeting must log on to Sametime when creating the meeting.
- The Moderator of the meeting must log on to Sametime when attending the meeting.
For example, if Etienne creates a meeting:
- Etienne must log on to Sametime before creating the meeting. He can then do one of the following:
- Leave his own name in the Moderator field of the Essentials tab of the New Meeting page. When he saves the meeting, he will be the Moderator for the meeting.
- Choose someone else (such as his colleague Maria) as the Moderator for the meeting.
- Before attending the meeting, the Moderator must log on to Sametime so that he or she can conduct the meeting.
- If Etienne chose Maria as the Moderator in step 1, Maria must log on to Sametime before attending the meeting.
- If Etienne chose himself as the Moderator in step 1, he must log on to Sametime before attending the meeting.
If Etienne does not log on to Sametime when creating the meeting, or if the Moderator does not log on to Sametime before attending the meeting, the meeting will not have a Moderator. No one will be able to conduct the meeting (including granting and revoking permissions) or send Web pages or poll questions to participants.
A meeting can also be left without a Moderator if the Moderator leaves the meeting. A meeting does not automatically end when the Moderator leaves. If only one person has moderated the meeting, the meeting continues without a Moderator if the Moderator leaves. Participants are then unable to control many aspects of the meeting. To prevent this situation, the Moderator should always select another Moderator before leaving the meeting.
Tip If Maria is the Moderator of a meeting and plans to switch the Moderator to Bob after an hour has passed, Bob must log on to Sametime before attending the meeting.
Multiple Moderators
A meeting cannot have more than one Moderator at a time, but several people might become the Moderator during a meeting. See Switching the Moderator for more information. If more than one person has been the Moderator of a meeting:
- The most recent Moderator is the only Moderator who can edit or delete the meeting when it is finished.
- If everyone who has moderated the meeting leaves the meeting, the original Moderator and the most recent Moderator can automatically become the Moderator again if they rejoin the meeting.
- If the current Moderator leaves the meeting, then the previous Moderator automatically becomes the Moderator again.
See the examples below for more information:
Example: Editing or Deleting a Finished Meeting
Bob creates a meeting and designates Etienne as the Moderator. During the meeting, Etienne switches the Moderator to Maria. When the meeting ends, Bob (as the meeting creator) and Maria (as the most recent Moderator) can edit or delete the meeting. Etienne (as the original Moderator) cannot edit or delete the finished meeting.
Example: Rejoining a Meeting
Charles is the original Moderator of a meeting. He switches the Moderator to Olga, who then switches the Moderator to Anna. Charles, Olga, and Anna all leave the meeting, and the meeting continues without a Moderator. Both Charles (the original Moderator) and Anna (the most recent Moderator) can automatically become the Moderator again if they rejoin the meeting. The first one to rejoin the meeting becomes the Moderator. Olga cannot automatically become the Moderator if she rejoins the meeting, because she is neither the original Moderator nor the most recent Moderator.
Example: Leaving a Meeting
Maria is the Moderator of a meeting. During the meeting, she switches the Moderator to Bob. Bob leaves the meeting without switching the Moderator. Maria automatically becomes the Moderator of the meeting when Bob leaves.