Some Zoom meetings have had spammers/trolls disrupt them. If your Zoom meeting wants to be publicly open to newcomers, or if the meeting is private, below are some ideas that may help keep the meeting a safe place to share. Take what you like and leave the rest. Please use the group conscious process to decide how your group would like to proceed.

The following links may also be helpful. Note that clicking them leads you off the CoDA site:

How to Protect Your Online 12 Step Meeting from Trolls

Reduce the Odds of Zoombombing

Zoom for Recovery Video

Security ideas

1. Create a password for your meeting in addition to a Meeting I.D.

2. Create a new service position, a member who keeps the password and/or all of the log-in information. New attendees would contact this person to attend.

3. Use the waiting room feature where attendees are "held" until the host or co-host allows them to enter the meeting.

4. Configure the account settings to stay the same each meeting. Then each new host won't have to set up the security settings each time. The Zoom for Recovery Video has more info. Zoom Settings ideas:

• Mute all participants upon entry (This can be helpful in case people arrive and being speaking during someone's share. Also because sometimes when people speak, Zoom shows their screen. Some spammers speak to show their disruptive screen images.)

• Only the host can screen-share (Also helpful so that spammers don't show disruptive images)

• Disable ability to Save Chats

• Disable Private Chats

• Disable Recording options

• Disable Virtual Backgrounds

• Disable Allow Removed Participants to Rejoin

• Enable Co-hosts (Can be helpful if a second person helps manage Zoom during the meeting, especially if using the Waiting Room feature. It is also possible to transfer the host at the end of the meeting to another person who wants to host Fellowship.)

5. Give each host info similar to: "To add security to a Zoom meeting experience, we suggest meeting leaders/ hosts familiarize themselves with how to perform these actions:"

• How to mute/ unmute all participants

• How to remove a user from the group or put them on hold ("put them on hold"= they can be brought in again, “remove”= permanently remove)

• How to lock a meeting so no one new can join

• How to disable "Allow Participants to Unmute Themselves" (under Participants, under More)

6. Less security-oriented, and more for ease of use: "If you're host or leader, take a moment to familiarize yourself with these basic zoom functions:"

• check for raised hands

• gallery view

• screen-sharing if you want to

• if you’d like your video on or off (to be seen or not)

Anonymity ideas

If your group is looking for support on anonymity during Zoom meetings, here are some ideas:

1. In the spirit of anonymity, we ask that you be the only person in the room during the meeting so that others may not overhear what is shared, or wear headphones. Thank you.

2. To honor Tradition 12 and anonymity, we suggest making an anonymous email before sharing your email address with the group.

3. If you'd like your name showing on the screen to be anonymous, you can click Participants, your name, then "Rename" and share your first name only. Or if you have a Zoom account, change your account name to your first name only before joining the meeting.