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Comment by GuB-42 | Hacker News Reader

Side question? Do you actually use the camera when doing a Zoom (or other) meeting?

Most of us don't where I work. Not only we don't necessarily look our best, and neither do our rooms, but most of the times the screen is used for other purposes. Usually screen sharing, a powerpoint persentation, or some work document.

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Yes we all turn our cameras on in meetings, I believe body language is important. Can’t imagine working in an office without seeing the people you work with in some cadence

We also turn our cameras on - though I wish we didn't. There's no point. Between varying (often low) video quality and the lag between audio and video (and software recognizing it's time to switch the main screen), having all our faces on the screen is worthless, IMO. It only serves to make everyone self-conscious. And in many cases someone sharing their screen, at which point nobody is looking at the tiny faces in the corner anyway.

We mostly default to on but no one has an issue when people turn cameras off and they're pretty much off if there's a presentation anyway. Seems to work pretty well. Really, nothing pandemic related, we're spread across about a third of the world (or more, for some meetings) anyway.

A lot of people have fairly managed video setups at this point although not all do.

Yep I'd hate this no-video culture. Having said that, in bigger meetings, I usually turn it off.

Meh I don’t find the varying quality and field of view and lighting really makes it useful at all for body language. We usually have a big screen share as the main focus so the little talking heads are more of a distraction

At my work we always have the camera on unless it’s a large meeting (30+).

My boss tried to mandate cameras during video calls. I really don't want to look at my coworkers. I turned my camera on once and it looked like garbage and that was enough for me.

I always just pin whatever screen is being shared to be full screen so I don't have to look at anyone.

I do. I suspect people vary wildly by how often they do meetings and what they use them for. For me, most conversations are done in text, and most video meetings are regularly scheduled and 15 minutes long.

Having a webcam on for longer meetings is tiring, because I feel less free to change my position and move around. But it's okay for a short meeting. I make sure I look reasonable beforehand.

Yes. While zoom sucks for conveying body-language, being able to see someone’s unhappy, confused, or confidently-agreeing face makes certain kinds of meetings much easier.

I run an agency and I mandate no cameras, even on client facing calls. It's always a distraction, just focus on screen sharing an agenda and the data.

Indeed. I don’t even own a camera. People don’t need to see me to work with me.

I was the same working remotely for 6 months pre covid, seeing faces just isn't that important. Had to get one for job interviews though.

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