Sadly, as many of you have experienced, people have disrupted online meetings in our fellowship. While we may not be able to completely stop them, here are few tips provided by fellows* who have been dealing with these online meeting disruptors. 

You must have Host or Co-Host access to take action on these suggestions. If you are not a meeting host, then send a link to this page to the secretary or host so they can take action.

Note: Some controls may look different for your version of Zoom. Before your next meeting,  review to Zoom instructions and find your computer or device type at the bottom of the page to access specific instructions.

Remove the Offending Participant

This action will kick the attendee off the call and keep them from coming back under the same account.

1. Go to the Manage Participants window at the bottom of the screen.
2. Find the name of the offending participant by either by scrolling or searching in the Manage Participants window.
3. Select their name and click “More” and then “Remove.”

Stop a Participant’s Video

This function will immediately turn off the disruptive attendee’s video. 

1. Go to the Manage Participants window at the bottom fo the screen. 
2. Click on “More” 
3. Click on “Stop Video.”

Turn Off Participants Ability to Mute/Unmute Themselves

This function will keep disruptive attendee from being able to unmute themselves and interrupt the meeting verbally. It will also mean the host and co-host will have to manually unmute each speaker.

1. Go to the Manage Participants window at the bottom of the screen. 
2. Click on “More.”
3. Uncheck “Allow Participants to Unmute Themselves”

Prevent Participants From Renaming Themselves

If people are using this function to have offensive slurs and violent words visible on the Participants window, you can uncheck this option to prevent them from showing renaming.

1. Go to the Manage Participants window at the bottom of the screen. 
2. Click on “More.”
3. Click on “Allow Participants to Rename Themselves” and make sure the check mark is removed so the function is turned off.

Turn Off Chat

This function keeps disruptive attendees from being able to send offensive messages via chat.

• Go to the Manage Participants window at the bottom of the screen. 
• Click on the “…” button.
• Select  “Participants can chat with: host only”

Lock the Meeting

After an attendee has been removed from the meeting or a meeting ended and restarted, the disruptive attendees can return under a new account. Thus, you may need to Lock the Room to disable any new people to join.

1. Go to the Manage Participants window at the bottom of the screen. 
2. Click on “More.”
3. Select “Lock Meeting.”

After the meeting, consider looking at Zoom Waiting Rooms to allow an alternative to locking meetings.