Carpinteria Birdwatchers Online Meeting Instructions

To help with public health efforts Carpinteria Birdwatchers has temporarily switched from in-person meetings to an online format.

There are two ways to participate:

Using Zoom

If you wish to participate using the videoconferencing program Zoom you can use the Zoom link sent to subscribers to the Carpinteria Birdwatchers email list. See the Carpinteria Birdwatchers page for instructions on how to sign up for the mailing list.

Using YouTube

A few minutes before each meeting we will send out a special YouTube livestream URL via email. We will also post the link on the Carpinteria Birdwatchers website at:

https://www.carpwithoutcars.org/

You can use that link to watch the YouTube livestream. You can also use it to watch the archived meeting after the fact.

Which way to participate?

It’s up to you how to participate. The Zoom app is more flexible, and lets you participate in the meeting by voice or video (if you want). There is also a chat window to interact by text.

Viewing the YouTube livestream is easier but has fewer features. You only see one view of the meeting and can’t share your own video or audio. There is a text chat that you can use to interact with other viewers and with the meeting organizers, but note that the YouTube livestream runs about 30 seconds behind the live event. That means there will be at least a 30-second delay between you making comments in the YouTube chat and being able to see responses from Zoom participants.

Tips if you are using Zoom

As with any videoconferencing there are a few things to keep in mind when participating via Zoom:

  • Please keep your microphone muted when you aren’t speaking. By default your mic will be muted when you first join. If you turn it on to ask a question or make a comment please turn it off again afterwards. If you forget the meeting hosts might mute your microphone for you.
  • It’s fun to see people’s faces, so we hope you’ll consider sharing video of yourself during the meeting. Note that by default your camera WILL be enabled (after giving you a warning to let you know) when you first join. Also, if you do choose to share your video and/or voice they will be included in the YouTube livestream, and will become part of the publicly viewable archive of the meeting.

That’s it! Hope to see you online!

John Callender
Carpinteria Birdwatchers