Random user becomes host if the real host is forced to leave (ex: network disconnection/crash), part deux

Feature Requests
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This is a continuation of Random user becomes host if the real host is forced to leave (ex: network disconnection/crash) , opened by @bragma

That post was a complaint about assigning a random viewer as a host when the actual host gets disconnected. This issue was not resolved at all. One reply given was to assign a co-host: this is a moot suggestion given that the original complain was about the host being disconnected unexpectedly – as in, there’s no time to prepare for it, and in small zoom meetings (such as the ones common in schools now), there is nobody else that can serve as a co-host (do you really expect schools to allocate a second teacher for every zoom class just in case the main teacher is disconnected???).

Another reply suggested a possible feature of moving all participants to the waiting room if the host is disconnected (or, less ideally, continuing the meeting without a host, as happens before it starts). However, AFAICT, this feature was not implemented, and the issue persists. There was a vague pointing in the direction of https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/sections/201214205-Release-Notes to “stay updated”, but that’s a generic release notes page with a LOT of text on every new thing that happens. Do you really expect people to read through all of that on each of the 2-3/week new releases??? And with the last mention of that nearly-useless page, the thread was just … closed.

Just to be super clear: this thing is used in schools. Kids learn in schools. Kids can be cruel. Leave a zoom class in the hands of a random kid when the teacher drops out, and the logical implication of that is a potential disaster.

PLEASE ADD THIS FEATURE.

And in case it was already added in some form (a real solution, not some impractical “you can assign a co-host” nonsense), please point to a page that describes the feature and how to set it up, rather than yet another reference to that-huge-pile-of-text. I’m a developer, and I know that release notes are important, but here you have interest in a particular item. Referring people to sift through thousands of items is really not useful in any meaningful way.

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This is an extremely badly needed feature for schools in areas where connectivity can be an issue.

Kids in schools should never be left unattended and that is exactly what happens when the host gets disconnected. We absolutely must have a feature that puts all attendees into the waiting room, NOT letting one random student become the host. How did that even get through testing with schools in mind?

Not workable and may cause schools (including mine) to abandon zoom for other platforms if such concerns are not addressed. In a school setting this should be looked at as a necessary SECURITY feature. Kids should never be unattended in a classroom, and that applies to the virtual environment as well.

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ZOOM-151680, referred to in another thread needs to be HIGH priority.

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Also, i once accidentally left a meeting.(I turned the record on before i left, and after about 2 minutes, i was able to rejoin and become the host again)
Will zoom continue to record the period in which i left accidentally?

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This REALLY needs to be addressed. As teachers, we need to have students go into a waiting room instead of randomly assigning a host. Or at the very least, allow us to designate a responsible student to become the host in the event the original host gets booted.

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I don’t think that designating a host student “in the event of” can work – teachers would never bother choosing one. (Or what if the designated student has left, etc.)

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I just want to bump this thread so that this issue isn’t forgotten about.

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Hello is there any update on this issue. Been more than 6 months now

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Can we really expect some update on this sooner than later? This is a VERY SERIOUS matter, and I hope the Zoom staff is listening to this! Is there any alternative that anyone has found? I really like the idea of “everyone being put in a waiting room till the host reconnects” - has this been implemented? If yes, how to activate this?

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Hey @academy1,

Yes, this has been implemented, however, you will need to reach out to support.zoom.us or your Zoom Account Executive to turn this feature on for you. :slight_smile:

Thanks,
Tommy

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@tommy, why isn’t this the default?

In my case, I’m also worried about misuse that has happened at my son’s school, and the reaching the technical support people is impossible.

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Are you kidding me. Contact our Zoom Account Executive to get this feature turned on?!?!?! REALLY? A teacher trying to communicate this to their overworked IT folks to take care of this simply is not realistic. This feature needs to get turned on for general use by all users that want it. My wife was in tears after having to deal with a crisis today due to this very issue. For teachers using Zoom there is probably no other more important product improvement needed and it needs to NOT be hidden under some sort of back door way to get the feature turned on. It is needed NOW!

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@tommy @elibarzilay

It’s not default, because not everyone need that particular solution.

Don’t get me wrong, a solution should be provided for the main issue (random user becomes host…) but that solution is definitely not putting everyone else in the waiting room by default.

That could be an option in the admin panel, something like:

If host disconnects…
:ballot_box_with_check: Put everyone into Waiting Room.
. . . . Assing one of the co-host(s) as host.
. . . . End meeting.

.

But without an option, setting this behavior as default is a nightmare for some of us.

We’re conducting medical events and all those doctors could do without me moderating the event actively (at least for a minute or so).
In fact, it happened more than once. Network issues and I’ve disconnected for many minutes and nobody even noticed that I’m missing. They just continued their discussions.

And what if everyone else ( hundreds of doctors and professors) would’ve been put into waiting room in the midst of a heated discussion presenting a surgical operation video?
That’s a horror movie for me. Even now, thinking of it, I got chills :frowning:

Or think of a musical event, a concert?
Who needs me, the host, all the time?
I wouldn’t care if a co-host becomes host until I fix my network issue and come back.
But putting all the musicians and listeners to waiting room in the middle of the song?!

You could think of many more scenarios as these.
Please, be careful what you’re asking from Zoom.
They might put that option as default and not give us a settings option to enable/disable it and then I and many more like me (conducting professional events, dealing with grown-ups and not children) get …ed up.

Please, be careful what you wish for and be more careful what you ask from Zoom.
For months, many pro users here in the forum asked for the multiple spotlight feature, finally they implemented it (but with a poor, poor choice of design and many bugs) and now, for months I’M IN HELL!
I can barely find enough time for a couple of hours of sleep every day, editing the cloud recordings.
Thank you dearest developers and decision makers of Zoom who are 'little bit too busy counting their millions instead of fixing bugs.

Ok, sorry, back to the point…
Please, with all the regards in the world, do not assume that your needs are valid for everyone else’s.

Thank you,

~ Fatih

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@pikonferans: Indeed, the issue is not what is the default, but rather being able to control the default. There’s nothing wrong with (a) being able to set a default per domain; (b) letting people set their own default based on need.

To clarify, you’re describing some situations where you’re your notion of “host” is broken (eg, if there’s someone presenting a video, then that someone should be the host (or a co-host). Similarly, in the other scenarios that you’re talking about there are (AFAICT) always a set of people who are trustworthy which should be co-hosts. Musical event: if there are multiple musicians, they’re effectively all co-hosts. Debate among registered workshop participants: they’re can all be co-hosts. But if you’re broadcasting this music performance to a random audience and a random person becomes the host (or if the workshop is open to the public, etc), then you have a potential disaster that can be worse than a waiting room.

So again, a preference would work. If you have designated co-hosts then there’s never an issue (unless all co-hosts drop out). If you don’t, then I think that an implicit reasonable option is to not decide that some random participant is effectively promoted to be a co-host. The real problem is that this option is implemented, but requires asking some sysadmin to change the default: in most cases people would even know about this option; only a few would know about it. And in most of those cases people won’t bother asking for a change; only a few will. And in most of those cases the sysadmins will not know how to change it (possibly due to a request that doesn’t point them at the exact option); only a few will. IMO this would boil down to a <10% people using this option from all people who need it.

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Is this really the case? I contacted support, and they mentioned there was no such feature, and got this response: “Upon careful checking on our end, putting all the attendees of a meeting back in the waiting room if the host was locked out is yet to be available. With that, you may submit any feedback to Feedback - Zoom”.

So what is it? Has this feature been implemented? Or not?!

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Hello :slight_smile:

Is there any about this subject ?

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I would also like to know if it has been turned on. It is not in my organization’s account and we have contacted zoom to request it and are now waiting to hear back.

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Big issue for our school too. Eager for an accessible solution.

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Apparently having students go into a waiting room if the host drops out is not a well known development as our school would like to enable it too but support has no idea about it.
Guess we really do need to keep this thread alive and see if the word can get out there.
Really do not need teachers to have to assign a trusted student as a co-host for each meeting just to ensure that they are exercising duty of care.

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Has anyone seen this supposed feature in some settings somewhere?