Conference bridge idiocy

Thu Dec 13 15:11:24 PST 2001

We use AT&T's conferencing service.  The person who reserves the conference
is givin an email that has the participant and host codes as a confirmation
letter.

The person scheduling the conference will then publish both codes to the
group invited to the meeting.

And (this is the funny part), they add formatting and have the host code in
strikethrough text.

If the chair of the meeting is not the first one on the call, usualy s/he
has to login as a participant, because someone else already logged in as
host.

If we need something done to the call (like extending it) we have to ask
who logged in with the host code.

It is a pain in the ***, but we just deal with it.

---- As written by Jim Hickstein:
> 
> I have a conference bridge where the "host" has a separate access code from 
> the "participants", and the host code is supposed to be kept secret. 
> Naturally, everyone sends both codes in the email announcing any meeting.
> 
> Does this happen to you, too?  Does anybody have a cure for it?  (Short of 
> cutting off their hands, I mean.)  How about a shot at naming the root 
> cause?
> 
> I just got a piece of email from a Huge Telephone Company, from the guy who 
> is _trying to sell me conference bridge service_, and he did this very same 
> thing.  I had the nerve to point it out to him (vendors != people, after 
> all), and he confirmed that he's not supposed to send the host code to 
> everyone.  He _knew_, and he still did it.
> 
> *sigh*
> 
> -Jim,
> Looking at a pile of accounts-payable reports and slowly shaking his head.
> 

-- 
/* Robert Hajime Lanning                             lanning at lanning.cc
** Trade: Unix Systems Administrator (Senior level) (SAGE IV)
*/
#include <std_disclaimer.h>