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You are here: Home / Balloon Juice / A Jackal Asks: How About a BJ Meetup on Zoom?

A Jackal Asks: How About a BJ Meetup on Zoom?

by | 148 Comments

This post is in: ,

I received a nice note from one of our fabulous Jackals, who shall remain nameless.  Here’s the part you might be interested in:

I’m wondering what you’d think about maybe organizing a BJ meetup on Zoom?  Or maybe several?  I’m thinking lots of us are getting just a bit lonely these days … do you think this might be a good idea?

She asks an excellent question!  These guys are all in, ready and waiting.

One Good Thing 1

How about the rest of you?  Anyone interested in a BJ Meetup on Zoom?

Would you be interested in participating?  With video?  Or audio only?

Assuming there is interest, what would be a good upper limit for a single meetup?  (People, not drinks.)

Let us know in the comments!

Open Thread.

***

Update:  Thanks to everyone who has chimed in so far, with yays or nays.  It sounds to me like there is plenty of interest!

How about if I put on my thinking cap and get in touch with some of the folks who offered to host with a professional zoom account?  Then we can have another thread to talk turkey on the details.

P.S.  If you are someone who made that offer but you use a fake email on Balloon Juice, then please send me email.

***

Photo credit: Butch

Butch didn’t suggest the meetup, but his guys are in place and ready to go!  Since we’re using his picture, it’s only fair to share the origin story, don’t you think?

The white Golden Retrievers came from an Amish family which made it interesting because they know their area only as far as their horse carries them and couldn’t give me directions to their house.  The orange kitty is Boxer, who we found discarded along our country road along with his sister Shadow (not shown).  Wilson  (black and white guy) showed up at our door one day, and I found Woody (not pictured, but looks like a smaller, thinner Boxer) as a tiny kitten in our woodpile – so small I had to bottle feed him for three weeks!
.

Reader Interactions

148Comments

  2. 2.

    raven

    I’m doing one with my California family tonite. I did this kind of stuff for years in my work so it should be no big deal. The problem with a lot of people is that some always forget to mute when they are not talking to the group and it can be a nightmare.

  3. 3.

    Poe Larity

    it would be a civic service to attract all the zoom trolls away from real work meetings.

  7. 7.

    Matt Smith

    My quick thoughts:
    1) Group size – I like 6 to 8 people. I’ve done a lot of group facilitation, and IMHO that’s the sweet spot.
    2) Assuming people like this idea, it would be nice to offer multiple group chats, enough for everyone interested to participate.
    3) If anyone wants help to make this happen, I’d be happy to help.

  8. 8.

    Poe Larity

    @zhena gogolia: pfft

    The AES-128 keys, which we verified are sufficient to decrypt Zoom packets intercepted in Internet traffic, appear to be generated by Zoom servers, and in some cases, are delivered to participants in a Zoom meeting through servers in China, even when all meeting participants, and the Zoom subscriber’s company, are outside of China.

    https://citizenlab.ca/2020/04/move-fast-roll-your-own-crypto-a-quick-look-at-the-confidentiality-of-zoom-meetings/

  9. 9.

    laura

    We skyped with friends for happy hour on Cesar Chavez Day and sheesh- have I got a face for radio.
    Will pass on the zoom.

  11. 11.

    CaseyL

    I like the idea.  My knowledge of Zoom is very limited, but I do know how to open a link.

    A Zoom meetup could have one advantage over the in-person kind: conversations will not be limited to the people seated immediately beside/across from you.

  14. 14.

    Major Major Major Major

    Zoom also has limits on the number of people who can join unless you have a professional account. Regardless of platform, would recommend no more than nine people.

    This is a meetup I might actually attend one of!

  15. 15.

    satby

    I’m not going to be doing any Zoom meetings, thanks. I also have a face for radio. But more than that, the security issues bother me.

  16. 16.

    Another Scott

    You folks go ahead. Thanks. :-)

    Meanwhile, Wonkette:

    But I digress. You may be wondering now, so what has Disarm The Deep State been doing? Well, according to a report from Media Matters, they have been running ads on 8kun, the message board run by Watkins, who is listed as the treasurer of the PAC. Meaning that dude started a PAC for the sad QAnon people on his site and then took the money that those people donated and then used that money to run ads on his own site.

    It’s a perpetual money machine!! Maybe M^4 and M^2 and The Other Chuck can get one of those set up here??!

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  22. 22.

    Jude

    I’d do it. 6-8 might be a sweet spot, but more is fine too. I have a friend who ran a librarian’s Zoom with 60 and our local Dems had a successful one at 18. Yes, one person getting water was VERY LOUD. There were about 3 people who were too shy to allow for video or just used their phone and that was just fine too, but the connections happen better with faces. I’d show my face. :-)

    I’ve always wanted to do an IRL meet up but live in WI.

  24. 24.

    Nancy

    I have Zoom for work that is considered to be safer that personal accounts. I’d define hosting a meeting as practice for my work requirements. And perhaps members would feel safer.

    So if people want to give it a try, please reply with some days and times. Then we will figure out how to get an invitation to you.

  25. 25.

    Sloane Ranger

    What a photogenic family!

    I recently joined Zoom for AmDram rehearsals and U3A committee meetings during these interesting times.

    As a Brit I’ve been envious of the US meet ups and am all in for a Zoom based one providing it’s at a civilised hour as far as the UK is concerned.

  26. 26.

    Jude

    The Post just put these tips on an article from today.

    • Don’t publicly share your Zoom “Meeting ID.” Send it directly to the people you want on the call.
    • Set a password for the meeting, then share that only with the right people.
    • Make sure “screen sharing” is set to “Host Only.” That prevents other people on the call from abruptly blasting text or images onto the other participants’ screen — a favored tactic of “Zoombombing” trolls.
    • Use the “waiting room” feature. It prevents new participants from joining the call until the host approves.
    • Use a “virtual background” if you want to cover up everything behind you with some other image or video. It’s pretty fun.
  27. 27.

    Eural Joiner

    I’d be interested – really learning A LOT about it in the past few weeks since my wife (elementary education) and I (high school) have been picking it up rather quickly. Plus, it’d be fun to connect some faces/voices with the names I see here all the time :)

  28. 28.

    narya

    I’ve been on so! many! meetings! since we’ve been WFH. That said, I would actually like to do this–i’ve never met any of you in person, and, even though I comment only sporadically, it is one of my tiny number of go-to sites (as in multiple times/day), and the first thing on the web i look at in the morning.

  30. 30.

    Bobby Thomson

    @Ryan: Anyone interested in a BJ Meetup

    Balloon Juice may have been unfortunately named.

     

    Phrasing.

  33. 33.

    Jo Jo las Orejas

    ¿Puedo traer mi juguete chirriante favorito? ¿Habrá golosinas? Me siento para el queso.

  35. 35.

    JPL

    OT For the Atlanta area folks, the local NBC station does not carry trump’s bs   they do provide highlights though.

  36. 36.

    PST

    I would enjoy the meet-up. I’ve had a lot more time for BJ lately, like the rest of the world. One thing I’ve noticed is how many Chicagoans there are around here. I hope for the day when a face-to-face is possible. We love our patios in this town, so I hope that day comes while the weather is still nice. Speaking of nice weather, today has been astonishingly sunny and temperate here. It embarrasses me a little, given all the suffering others are experiencing, how much I enjoyed myself on this perfect day. I walked more than three miles, just exercising the dog, and biked another three or so running a couple of errands. The big bike errand was a booze run, which might seem like folly, but we all take a few small chances. Spent much of the afternoon sitting on the balcony with the dog, reading, eating tacos, drinking a Bell’s Hopslam, and watching the occasional jogger run down the empty street. It was indecently relaxing.

  37. 37.

    Wag

    I would definitely join.  Zoom works really well for our work meetings.  If we’re doing smaller groups it could be cool to have a front pager join to moderate,  I would love to be on a zoom with any of the FP people.

  38. 38.

    geg6

    I’m in but not until I get my new modem, which Verizon tells me will be 1-2 days.  So some time next week would be best for me.  Yes, just as I’m finally getting a little bit of the hang of working from home, my modem craps out.

    Been doing a lot of zoom for work and it’s really easy to use.  And you don’t have to turn the camera on, just the mic.  Though if the household animals are in camera range, I propose that it’s mandatory to show them to us.

    I’ve been begging for a ‘Burgh meetup for years, so this would be a great substitute.  The only Juicer I’ve ever met was Cole.  Twice, once at my place when he brought us Lovey and once at his place.

  39. 39.

    dmsilev

    Sure, that’d be fun.

    I do have an edu “professional” Zoom account if the limits on the free tier are too …limiting.

  40. 40.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    My writing group has been meeting by Zoom and I find having pictures helps with turn taking when  you talk. You can sort of wave your hand and also see when someone else is talking or even getting ready to.

  43. 43.

    Martin

    In case anyone was wondering.

    But Trump said Friday he would use the act to require General Motors to make ventilators after what he described as a dispute with the company over supply and pricing. Three administration officials speaking on the condition of anonymity told USA TODAY that the government is still exploring its options and has not yet placed an order under the Defense Production Act for any of the machines.

    …
    “I invoked the Defense Production Act to compel General Motors to accept, perform, and prioritize federal contracts for ventilators,” Trump said. “This invocation of the DPA should demonstrate clearly to all that we will not hesitate to use the full authority of the federal government to combat this crisis.”
    In fact, Trump actually took a less significant step: He signed a memorandum delegating “available” authorities under the act to Azar. The health department has been working since then with FEMA and other federal agencies to figure out how to execute Trump’s wishes.
    Peter Navarro, who Trump named as his point person on the Defense Production Act, told Politico on Thursday that the administration was relying on voluntary updates from the company. Navarro did not respond to questions about the act from USA TODAY.

    So, strongly worded letter but not an order.

  45. 45.

    The Dangerman

    I’d do it. I just did one with 8 or 9 and it worked just fine.

    I’m a bit concerned about the privacy thing, but, at this point, unless you live like the Unabomber in a cave someplace, privacy went out the barn door long ago. It’s not like I’m going to share the cool new design of my debit card or something. If the Chinese want to see all my pictures on the wall, they can have at it.

  46. 46.

    Roger Moore

    @WaterGirl:

    Do we really care if the BJ zoom is encrypted?

    This is more or less what I thought.  The biggest worry would be the risk of attracting Zoom trolls, but attracting trolls would be par for the course for Jackals.

  47. 47.

    narya

    @PST: Sketchbook (in Evanston) will deliver within a certain area, if you purchase 4 growlers (some of which are on sale for $10 per) or (I think) a case.

  48. 48.

    cain

    If you don’t want to do zoom, we can do jitsi which is open source… hell I might even pay for it since I rather not have zoom get too popular.

  49. 49.

    WereBear

    I think this is a lovely idea :) Maybe do a signup for times, so people can join as fits their schedule, and when one reaches that 6-8 number it will be filled and then new ones if demand requires?

  52. 52.

    The Dangerman

    @WereBear:

    ….and then new ones if demand requires

    Fine idea. The Balloon Juice After Dark room could be a winner. Curiously, the Duck Room might be popular, too.

  53. 53.

    Roger Moore

    BTW, a zoom meetup sounds fun.  The big question in my mind: if we’re going to be limited to about 8 people in a meetup, how do we assign people to their group?

  54. 54.

    piratedan

    i think this is a spiffy idea, might even get a few lurkers to de-lurk… so to speak and in these days of social distancing and the uphill battle we still fight with the media, sharing thoughts and knowing that you’re not alone is pretty damn important for maintaining one’s sanity….

  56. 56.

    TheWesson

    @Ryan: At first I assumed “Balloon Juice” referred to a used condom, but I was relieved to discover it merely means “Hot Air.”

    Guess that’s my nasty, dirty, ugly mind!

  57. 57.

    Ruckus

    I think it sounds like a good idea.

    We will need a known time frame, I understand that some of you don’t wear pants all the time.

    I think 8 is too small however the coordination of larger groups is not an easy problem to solve.

    Now fortunately most of us seem to have just a touch of time on our hands currently.

  61. 61.

    PST

    @narya: I had high hopes for delivery of food and beverages, but near me, at least, it seems like the available “windows” are always filled or too far in the future. Curbside pickup, on the other hand, is working, as is delivery of food ready to eat. Curbside pickup means getting on the bike and limiting myself to a pannier full, but in this great weather that’s a feature, not a bug.

  62. 62.

    Elizabelle

    @ Butch:  I remember Woody’s origin story.  Glad to hear he is surviving and thriving.  What a wonderful set of pets.

    Happy Friday, all.

  63. 63.

    James E Powell

    I’m already zooming everything else: faculty meetings, department meetings, classes, professional development, family, friends. Why not here as well?

    Is there an upper limit? Will there be singing?

  64. 64.

    JanieM

    @Major Major Major Major:

    @satby:

    I’m with you two. Yes, privacy has gone the way of the horse and buggy, but I still stand on principle when I can.

    M^4: Can you recommend some other platform? Not necessarily for BJ, but just in general.

  68. 68.

    mrmoshpotato

    @PST:

    Spent much of the afternoon sitting on the balcony with the dog, reading, eating tacos, drinking a Bell’s Hopslam

    What were you reading?  What was your dog reading?

     

    walked more than three miles, just exercising the dog, and biked another three or so

    Try the lakefront path.  I hear it’s deserted. ?

  70. 70.

    PaulWartenberg

    I would be amenable to a Zoom online gathering, but I still have to work – (city employee with the library) – so weekends would work best for me. How is this going to get done?

  72. 72.

    mrmoshpotato

    @Martin:

    after what he described as a dispute with the company over supply and pricing

    Pricing eh?  Dump wasn’t getting his orange face wet enough?  GM refused to be shaken down by a Soviet shitpile mobster manchild?

  73. 73.

    Immanentize

    There is not one here, I suspect, who has privacy issues related to Zoom.  Unless I am misreading this crowd. If you are a super secret Motherfucking James Bond, don’t join the thread.  Otherwise, no one gives a shit. Sad but true. Even if you remain worried, pick an alius. Y’alll need interventions.

  74. 74.

    Baud

    No thanks. I had a bad experience on Omegle and don’t want to repeat that experience.

  75. 75.

    Sure Lurkalot

    @WereBear: Great idea!

    I think this would be fun even for the lurkers like moi. I haven’t used Zoom but hopefully it’s not too hard to figure out. My working partner uses it and Microsoft Teams.

  77. 77.

    Jude

    The free version allows for 100 people. The negative is we’re limited to 40 minutes. A jackal above offered their pro version though. Thanks!

    I’m hoping for a large group vs only tiny groups of 8, at least at the beginning. It would feel like a chaotic party.

  78. 78.

    mrmoshpotato

    @Ruckus:

    We will need a known time frame, I understand that some of you don’t wear pants all the time. 

    It’s the Baud! 2020! way!

  85. 85.

    Sure Lurkalot

    @PST: I put in a small Whole Foods order only to find no delivery times available. I kept checking my cart when I was online and all that happened were items removed because they were no longer available. But then I checked and it said there were delivery times available for tomorrow so I got stuff coming. This is my first rodeo on delivery. I have been going out for one grocery trip, to one store, per week and that’s the most I’d like to do. Good luck!

  90. 90.

    WaterGirl

    Thanks to everyone who has chimed in so far, with yays or nays.  It sounds to me like there is plenty of interest!

    How about if I put on my thinking cap and get in touch with some of the folks who offered to host with a professional zoom account?  Then we can have another thread to talk turkey on the details.

    P.S.  If you are someone who made that offer but you use a fake email on Balloon Juice, then please send me email.

  94. 94.

    Immanentize

    @mrmoshpotato: so great!  I have a sideways story.  When I worked for Southern Poverty Law Center, we all went to Jake’s Fish Camp.  When we got there, a tobasco drinking contest was going on.  I
    just came in and a guy at the smallish bar slammed down the big bottle of tabasco he just chugged and said, not making this up:

    “T’wernt nothin.”
    I love that Dude.

  105. 105.

    mrmoshpotato

    @Elizabelle: I have a date with a podcast tonight. :)

    Especially now, I need to hear Driftglass and Bluegal call the Russthuglican party a, now even more murderous, goddamn fucking pile of shit.

  106. 106.

    Immanentize

    @Another Scott: Dude, what will happen to you?  Do think this platform is more secure?  What do you want for your life?

    The Feds used to bug walls near funeral homes to get conversations of mobsters. The current network of crawling info. Is so friggin ubiquitous that everything you have ever posted to this blog has been (or can be) tied to you. We are excellent at finding people after a crime. Almost perfect (Las Vegas? WTF?) But terrible at preventing crimes.

    Zoom is a problem?

  107. 107.

    FelonyGovt

    I would be interested. Sounds like fun. I had to get a Zoom Pro account for my work.

  111. 111.

    HumboldtBlue

    @WaterGirl: 
    I downloaded the zoom app on Saturday and did a meet with family. On Sunday my computer was being used for someone to access xbox live. As I sat here four boxes appeared on my screen of someone’s xbox live account. I removed the zoom program and will never use it again.

  112. 112.

    WaterGirl

    Love the interpreter for the Mayor on the click someone linked to above.  It looks like he’s telling Jared to fuck off, which they pretty much were.  Good job.

  119. 119.

    Mary G

    Butch’s crew is adorable. The teen’s brother came over and I am not happy, as he works in a nursing home. Just threw him out, but feel bad about it.

  120. 120.

    Another Scott

    @Immanentize: The Chinese probably have everything about me already, thanks.  I don’t have any illusions.

    But people should know what they’re getting into before signing up for something that’s “free”.  E.g. FB having yet another outlet to hoover up everything from people who never signed up might give some people pause.

    Yeah, the horse is out of the barn, the barn burned down, and a subdivision was built on top of it.  But…

    FWIW.  :-)

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  121. 121.

    MazeDancer .

    Bigger is better. 12-15. 12 is just 3 rows of 4 pics. Like all parties, there will be the talkers and monopolizers. And the listeners.

    Actually, the most fun would be a Front Pager meet-up that we could watch like people watch others play video games on Twitch.

  124. 124.

    Immanentize

    @Another Scott: My University has an impossible guy who friggin blocks every possible solution unless it certifies a whole set of security protocols.  I have no worry about my classes.  Should I?

    but you know the real with free — if it is free, you are the product.

    So, Facebook, FaceTime , insragram, Twitter, etc. And people are worrying about a free version of friggin Zoom? Which maybe the .1% will use?

  125. 125.

    Redshift

    I’d be up for it; I have some nice virtual backgrounds. :-)

    For larger groups, I recall a friend talking about how there’s a type of zoom meeting (webinar, maybe) with “breakout rooms” that you can split people up into.

  126. 126.

    HumboldtBlue

    @WaterGirl:

    That’s what we used, my sister is Superintendent-level in SoCal and she created the meeting using her professional app. I made the mistake of downloading the program as well.

  128. 128.

    Mary G

    Just a by the by: "private" messages sent to individual people during a Zoom meeting show up in the end-of-meeting transcript along with all other public messages.
    Tell your friends, save a life.
    — Christian Moriarty (@MoriartyCR) April 3, 2020

  130. 130.

    Another Scott

    @Immanentize:

    FCW:

    […]

    The Zoom for Government platform is on the General Services Administration’s buying schedule and also has that agency’s Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program moderate level approval. Zoom was sponsored in the FedRAMP approval process by the Department of Homeland Security, according to the company. The authorization allows federal agencies and contractors to securely use Zoom for government video meetings and API integrations, according to the company.

    Typically, government-approved versions of commercial off-the-shelf products to not allow for data collection for marketing purposes.

    Zoom’s standard product has many newer users in public school environments, since company CEO Eric Yuan removed time limits on the app for elementary and high schools as the COVID-19 pandemic closed down the facilities across the U.S.

    The company’s video teleconferencing offering has raised the hackles of some privacy experts, including Consumer Reports, who say it collects and sells user data to online advertisers. It revised its privacy policy on March 29 to say it does not sell personal data.

    Additionally, a company official told the Intercept in a March 31 report that Zoom does not offer end-to-end encryption as it is commonly understood – that is encrypting data between user end points. The content of a video conference hosted by Zoom is potentially visible to the company itself.

    An IT manager FCW spoke with about Zoom said they were confident that with the FedRAMP moderate rating that conforms services to FISMA standards, a federal Authority to Operate, and familiarity with the platform, most federal users could be reasonably confident with the platform’s integrity.

    They seem to be making the (paid) product better in response to recent loud criticism (and fixing some of the issues with the public version). That’s good. People have to speak up if they want to keep stuff private…

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  134. 134.

    Darkrose

    @Jude: Good tips. I started using the waiting room feature when I was training after a student came back in with a different email address after being kicked from the meeting. It’s very handy, but if you have a large meeting, it’s good to have a co-host or two who can help manage admitting participants.

    Zoom has some security issues that can and should be fixed, but I think it’s important to note that any collaboration tool that’s being widely used is going to be hard to lock down. The whole point is to make it easy for people to connect.

  135. 135.

    Lyrebird

    @The Dangerman:  It’s not like I’m going to share the cool new design of my debit card or something.

    Thank you, I really needed a laugh!  And fwiw I’m a huge privacy fan and respect people’s concerns, I just love how you phrased that!

     

    FWIW I would be interested and could host a small one.  I don’t have a pro license but I have an account for work.

  136. 136.

    Lyrebird

    @Mary G: How do you get the end-of-meeting transcript?  I know I should Google it, but I haven’t found that yet & it would be handy… copy-pasting student responses (like to re-read them before next class) does not work in my version.

     

    Plus thanks for one of the things you posted a night or two ago.  I’ve forgotten, but it did me good at the time!

  137. 137.

    MoxieM

    So here’s me popping in as a sour wet blanket: You all know the Amish are famous for the hideous conditions of their puppy mills, yeah? The absolute worst. Unless you know the family, and even then, I would never, ever, ever buy a dog from an Amish breeder. They basically torture the dogs — it’s factory farming of puppies. Some of them never come out of the wire crates. I fostered a mill dog and the trauma was just heart-breaking.

    Info here

    OK, back to regular plague news.

  141. 141.

    danielx

    @eemom:

    And gripe about the site redesign to see him go up in smoke and tell us all to take a long walk off a short pier

  142. 142.

    cain

    40 minutes is plenty of time to have fun and enjoy each others company, pets and a beverage. I just did that with my friends earlier today.

  143. 143.

    Joy in FL

    I like the idea of a Zoom gathering. I would probably lurk there also, although I don’t mind being on the camera. The thumbnails are small unless you’re the one talking : )

  146. 146.

    JCNZ

    Hell yes! If anyone’s interested in the view from New Zealand, please include me in.

    jdcullinane(at)xtra.co.nz

  147. 147.

    Dan B

    I’d be interested if there are options on time slots.  And if we can get a non Zoom option for people who’ve had bad experiences with it.

  148. 148.

    Butch

    I’m sorry I didn’t see this yesterday – had to leave for one of my jobs at noon and didn’t get back to a computer.  Mischief and Mayhem (Scout and Ranger) can be a handful but they are wonderful dogs, and the kitties are good companions – lots of time lately sitting around the woodstove together.

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