# Is a ZOOM Dopefest possible? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 21, 2022, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-zoom-dopefest-possible/958146 "2022-01-21T04:47:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2022, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-zoom-dopefest-possible/958146/1 "2022-01-21T04:47:08Z")
I think it was tried in the past, but ZOOM has improved its services quite a bit since then, and the public (for the most part) has become more savvy in it’s use. Either smaller time zone based Fests or one or two bigger fests-What are the pros and/or cons, and would anyone be interested? ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2022, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-zoom-dopefest-possible/958146/2 "2022-01-21T06:00:12Z")
Totally. Worst thing that happens is too many interested people and overwhelms the Zoom. We could cope with success. Breakout rooms, even. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2022, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-zoom-dopefest-possible/958146/3 "2022-01-21T06:02:41Z")
For this to happen I would like someone more ZOOM savvy than I to se it up and/or run it. I have been to a few ZOOM meets, but have never set one up or run one. ---
**Author:** ![Newtosite](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/newtosite/32/8623_2.png) [@Newtosite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Newtosite)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2022, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-zoom-dopefest-possible/958146/4 "2022-01-21T06:37:26Z")
I can’t set it up, but I would LOVE to attend! ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2022, 8:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-zoom-dopefest-possible/958146/5 "2022-01-21T08:19:54Z")
Have you tried a social occasion of even a modestly sized group by zoom? It’s very awkward for a group larger than would ordinarily participate in a single conversation - multiple conversations don’t work; unless you have breakout rooms but that is socially awkward. Imagine the way any social gathering of people splits into little conversational groups - the size of such groups is about the limit of what size group can have a single zoom social gathering. You can have larger business zoom meetings where you have a chair (or similar) who polices the conversation. ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2022, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-zoom-dopefest-possible/958146/6 "2022-01-21T14:35:46Z")
I think a Zoom Dopefest is a fun idea. Taking it a step further, with screen-share, Watch Parties could be hosted on Zoom. The host for the evening would choose a movie or documentary from a steaming service they belong to and screen-share it to participants. Chat would ensue before and during the playing of the movie. Example: post in Cafe Society: Tonight @ 7pm EST, Czarcasm hosts _Fantastic Fungi_ on Zoom. Watch and Discuss. Link: xxxxx. Hosts could be rotated, giving everyone a chance to pick a video they like. One problem with Zoom is that with the free version, you’re limited to 40 minutes. So, longer videos would need to be broken into more than one session. There are free platforms that provide more features specifically for movie parties, like [Scener](https://www.scener.com/), but with those, all participants need to subscribe to the streaming service used. With Zoom, only the host needs the subscription. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2022, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-zoom-dopefest-possible/958146/7 "2022-01-21T14:40:47Z")
This would be cool. I have an account we can use. I think the limit is 100 people. I don’t think there’s a time limit. Or we can use Google Meet. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2022, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-zoom-dopefest-possible/958146/8 "2022-01-21T14:57:51Z")
Or, we could use Jitsi, which I just learned about in another thread. Just agree on a URL ([Jitsi Meet](https://meet.jit.si/sdmb) works for example). No one has to set anything up, no time limits, etc. I think it even has breakout rooms. We could have one for each forum. Go to MPSIMS if you just want to shoot the shit, go to BBQ if you want to rant and rave, etc! (That’s in jest, of course, and I’ve never tried the breakout session functionality on this or any video call service) Anyway, I’m interested. On edit, I see that Discourse turned my link idea into a link. Anyway, we could use (adding spaces to break the link) https:// meet. jit. si/ sdmb ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2022, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-zoom-dopefest-possible/958146/9 "2022-01-21T15:09:46Z")
In my experience- of meeting on Jitsi weekly for the last 2 years- it tends to have trouble with meetings that get much larger than 10 people with audio and video drops and suchlike. It’s convenient- for the reasons you mentioned- but it’s not ideal for big groups. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2022, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-zoom-dopefest-possible/958146/10 "2022-01-21T15:12:44Z")
That, and I would want a platform most are used to. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2022, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-zoom-dopefest-possible/958146/11 "2022-01-21T15:13:08Z")
Got it. I only learned of it yesterday and only tried it with four people. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2022, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-zoom-dopefest-possible/958146/12 "2022-01-21T17:01:26Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > For this to happen I would like someone more ZOOM savvy than I to se it up and/or run it. I have been to a few ZOOM meets, but have never set one up or run one. I have. But never for a really large group, although I’ve been in some that other folks set up. ---
**Author:** ![ratatoskK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ratatoskk/32/2987_2.png) [@ratatoskK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ratatoskK)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2022, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-zoom-dopefest-possible/958146/13 "2022-01-21T18:40:39Z")
I’m in. ---
**Author:** ![echoreply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/echoreply/32/3641_2.png) [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2022, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-zoom-dopefest-possible/958146/14 "2022-01-21T19:51:15Z")
One thing in large Zoom meetings that I’ve found greatly increases interactions is to use break out rooms with 4-6 random people each. Let those groups chat for 10-15 minutes, and then shuffle again. It’s impossible to hold a single conversation with more than a few people. Lectures, presentations, and even Q&As work fine with large groups, but not social things. In my experience, large social events on Zoom tend to just be a bunch of people listening to two or three people having a conversation. The small breakout rooms work around that dynamic, but can fall into the problem of five introverts in the same room, and none is willing to speak first. Of course the same thing happens at real parties, and the same tactics can overcome it: give people something to talk about. ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2022, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-zoom-dopefest-possible/958146/15 "2022-01-21T23:59:00Z")
I’ve downloaded Zoom but never yet had occasion to use it. Is setup easy? ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2022, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-zoom-dopefest-possible/958146/16 "2022-01-22T01:03:23Z")
Zoom is very easy to use if you have a laptop with a camera, or if you want to use it on your phone. As others have said, though, having a teeming million people trying to chat at once risks just being a cacophony of noise. Large meetings work when there is somebody leading a discussion while the rest listen, who can yield the floor to other participants as applicable. Which is why it seems to me that a Doper could host a Zoom that was an offshoot of their thread here. If you are an OP, perhaps you could schedule a time for people to have a live chat to discuss the topic? The OP is host, and can call on people to give comments. I’m not sure if this would be tedious, or frustrating, but it would seem to me that we’d be approximating what we are doing here, except with spoken words instead of text, and with the option of showing your face. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2022, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-zoom-dopefest-possible/958146/17 "2022-01-22T01:30:45Z")
The breakout rooms is a great idea, although I’ve never participated in that. Agreed, that one big mob in a zoom would not be conducive to good conversations. Hmmm, just like IRL. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2022, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-zoom-dopefest-possible/958146/18 "2022-01-22T02:07:03Z")
We tried a [couple early](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virtual-dopefest/853448) in the pandemic, the most successful being run by @analogsignal who hasn’t been around in a while. He turned out to be great at leading the conversation, asking questions to quieter participants and sort of leading the call. It was still sort of awkward and I’m not sure I’d do it again. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2022, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-zoom-dopefest-possible/958146/19 "2022-01-22T04:34:25Z")
I just want to say, y’all are much better looking in print. If we did a Zoom, then I’d have much weirder mental images of everyone. ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2022, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-zoom-dopefest-possible/958146/20 "2022-01-22T05:16:02Z")
IOW, we have faces made for radio? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-zoom-dopefest-possible/958146.md?page=2)