I'm sorry you had to endure such an awful attack, Walter. If there can be a silver lining, perhaps it is that you know you've gotten through to the bastards with your writings and they view you as a threat. So, keep on keepin' on.
I’m so sorry to hear about this videoconference attack. I think it points to the fact that those of us standing up for human rights and decency in this age of amplified white supremacy and unmasked racism are going to have to take more proactive steps to protect ourselves and our communities. I would encourage you to check out using Streamyard.com, which allows you to bring in guests and broadcast to platforms like YouTube, they also have a webinar feature which I heard is very good. You may want to offer a filtered registration for your webinars in order for people to have access to live chat and feedback. You are correct, the fact that this happened to you means that you’re doing good work and it has attracted negative attention from the trolls that seek to spread malice and chaos in the culture war. Keep doing the work of the “culture healer.” Maintain your HOPE in the goodness of so many human beings, and keep moving forward! #HealOurCulture
Thank you Wesley! I'll look into your suggestions. I'm going to take the next few days and regroup, and then work next week to fortify my security. Yes, they come after us, and I'm going to let everyone know that I've been the target of a white supremacist terror attack. I'll be attending the next schoolboard meeting in my community and I'll bring it up there. They've given me ammunition that I can use against them.
I would also recommend reading Renee DiResta‘s book “Invisible Rulers.” She has been, unfortunately, a repeated target for the same racist trolls around issues of vaccines and disinformation / media literacy. She has good insights to offer and is wise.
That sounds even worse than I imagined! What an ordeal. I hope your tech guys can block them. I have a saying I use for people who treat others poorly, gossip or whatever, “how sad it must be to be you”, but this is beyond that. I can think of a few choice words…
The whole thing probably only lasted about 30 seconds. I could go back and verify but I deleted the video. I didn't want a file with pornography on my computer. Still, it was traumatic. There are some truly awful people out there. Thanks Rusty!
When I was a kid I wore my heart on my sleeve which made me an easy target for bullies. There was no social media or cell phones so my family was my sanctuary. Walter, we are a family for you, your faithful readers, who respect and value what you bring to the conversation. The thing I learned long ago (using and old adage) What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger! I grew an inner strength in my experience, it truly made me a better person. You are part of a community that wants to bloom and flourish. The detractors are hiding in darkness so full of anger and self pity that all they can do is lash out to make everyone as miserable as they are. You’re, We’re already stronger. You are learning how to make this a safe space for people who truly care about each other and to silence the lost and ugly voices that want to tear it down. Strength has built within our community as the many voices of your readers are shouting support for what you are building. Bullies may win the fight but they can’t win the war as long as strength and community holds us together. Strength is what scares the bully because they don’t possess it. Together we stand!
I am glad that you had a sanctuary. My Mother told me as a child that I ruined her life by being born. My father despised me for upsetting my Mother by being born. I received no love at all. My life has been a lot of hell, but I am now 75, have a small home, and lots of cats and dogs who love me, so I am content. We do not all get to have good, happy lives, but we have to make the best of what we do get.
My heart goes out to you. I know how lucky I was as I have met many people like you, that struggled alone. You are a testament to the resilience of the human spirit. You have weathered your struggles alone and persevered. Look at you now, you have found solace and love. You should be proud of yourself! You are warrior!
I'm sorry you had to endure that Maria. I often felt unloved as a child too. We got a dog and that really helped. Retreating into the woods helped. I'm relying on a lot of those tactics today. Thanks for your support.
THANK YOU! I KNOW THAT YOUR POST WAS NOT DIRECTED AT ME, BUT IT HIT ME STRAIGHT ON. MY MOTHER TOLD ME AS A CHILD THAT I Had ruined her life by being born. She never loved me. She did not even pretend to like me until I was ten and she needed me to baby sit my little sister, who was the love of her life. My mother never ChANGED HER MIND. SHE HATED ME RIGHT UP TO THE DAY SHE DIED! AND EVERYTHIING WAS GIVEN TO MY SISTER. :(
I’m so sorry this happened but to reiterate what others have said, this isn’t your fault or anything to do with you personally. Unfortunately these jackasses(I can’t write the words I really think of them) are filled with hate and fear and you are making a difference in people’s lives and thoughts and they broke into the Zoom to spread their hate. So sorry you or anyone had to see and hear what they spewed. Best thing you can do is protect your Zoom meetings as this has happened to other groups. Ignore them and keep on doing what you do which is to educate, inform, and bring strength and resolve and beauty to what’s occurring in our world right now. You are a shining light in the darkness and strong voice in the chaos. Sending you peace after that awful incidence.
Oh my gosh, Walter! I had no idea this happened to you or to our great community here. That is so very sad… and maddening! I’ve been wanting to join your calls but the time slot is difficult for me. You offer so much value! I do believe these hateful people are the minority and there still are more good and kind people in the world, in spite of this horrible behavior. Thanks for all you say and do to represent that positive part of humanity. So sorry you were attacked for that. Sending love and protection. We will prevail. We will prevail.
I AM GRATEFUL TO OTHERS WHO SHARE THEIR STORIES. SOMETIMES I FEEL SO ALONE THAT i JUST WANT TO SCREAM! i WAS TREATED SO BADLY AND i AM SUCH A KIND, CARING PERSON THAT i SIMPLY CANNOT COMPREHEND HOW THEY COULD HAVE DONE IT.
HOW ON EARTH CAN ONE PERSON TREAT ANOTHER PERSON SO BADLY? i DO NOT UNDERSTAND. I DON'T UNDERSTAND HATRED AND BIGOTRY AND ANIMAL ABUSE AND OTHER THINGS, BUT i AM verY AWARE THAT THEY EXIST. iT HURTS!
I tell my kids to go out into the forest and scream when they're angry. I do it too. The only thing that's helped me is to remember all the anger that was directed at me and use that to motivate me to treat people only with kindness. I've absorbed a lot of hate and I'll continue to absorb it. I'll be a hate sink so nobody else has to endure it, particularly not my kids. Now that I'm an adult, I can fight back a little too. Strength to you Maria! Know that you are loved and treasured by the people you have saved (because I'm sure you've absorbed many blows that were intended for others).
wow! i DO NOT THINK THAT I have ever encountered an other person who actuallyl seemed to understand me. I am not sure what to say. I am grateful to be understood. I am impressed by your empathy and compassion. The screams into the forest are something that I do not tell most people, but are an integral part of my survival.
for most of my life, I have kept them VERY private, but lately, I have found the need to express them. Lately I feel VERY much alone, and that is not a new feeling, but it is much more intense than it was before. I am surrounded by jerks. One of them literally poisoned me and my dogs and cats last summer and almost killed us. He claimed that he was getting rid of the dandelions. I like dandelions and use them in salads., and they were on MY property, not his. They are actually very healthy , but not when they have been poisoned. One of them stole my property and then accused me of begging for help after I had spent a week helping them. One of them steals from me on a regular basis. I cannot leave anything on my carport without the risk of him taking it. Bottom line is that I no longer feel safe in my own home. I am angry! I am hurt! I am afraid that they will escalate and hurt my dogs,. who are my best and only friends. I have been here for thirty years. One of my favorite things is feeding the birds. I have been doing it for the whole thirty years I used to wake up with birds singing in the trees and waiting for me to feed them, but new people have moved in and they have dozens of cars and trucks and they do not want birds around.,. so they use bird repellent machines My life is being stolen from me, Growing old is bad enough, but having your life stolen from you is incomprehensible!@ I AM ANGRY@@@@@
I used to run zoom meetings over the pandemic for 12 step recovery meetings. In the beginning we would always get "bombed" by the "zoom bombers" who would get meeting details and passwords from published listings on our associations web pages. These are the steps I took with zoom that really helped to nearly eliminate our meetings getting bombed:
1. Designate 1 host and 1 co-host max. It is best to not have more than a few people with access to the meeting's security settings.
2. Always use the waiting room. This can help prevent fishy or sketchy looking accounts from gaining access. It can be the co-host's job to manage the waiting room.
3. Do not allow people to change their names while in the meeting. What zoom bombers will do is enter a meeting, take a screenshot of the people that are there, exit the meeting and rejoin with someone else's name that was already in the meeting. Now they can start doing shady things and you won't be able to tell who the bomber is vs. who the legitimate attendee is. If people want to change their names, they have to exit and re-enter. That sucks for a legitimate attendee, but it needs to be that way.
4. Do not allow default access to the white board or screen sharing tools. You can grant access individually during the meeting if you want, but it shouldn't be the default for everyone in the meeting.
5. Do not enable chat until at least 15 minutes (I always did 30 mins) into the meeting. When zoom bombers join and they see they can't change their name, use white board/screen share and can't access chat, they usually bail and/or go somewhere else. It is much easier to eject people if they can only offend with their voice or video on.
6. This one can be controversial, but close off the meeting to attendees after 10 minutes, 15 minutes max. If an attendee is late, then tough luck. Unless someone in the room you know and trust can vouch for them, they'll have to catch the next zoom. Again, this sucks, but it needs to be this way.
7. This is one is optional, but have a way where people can register for the event with an email address and then send the meeting password 10 minutes before the event starts. This is not foolproof (none of these steps I've listed here are), but the more difficult you make it for the zoom bombers to access and disrupt the event, the better. They will go somewhere else instead.
This might seem like a lot, but I feel it is really what you need to do these days to keep your meetings safe for your attendees. I'm sure there are other settings and options that can be employed as well to secure your meetings. And not everyone will like or agree with what I have suggested, but for me, this has worked the best.
I wish you the best of luck in the future with your zoom events.
You're welcome! I hope the suggestions become helpful. I'm not on Medium. I'm actually not exactly sure what that is. But I definitely would consider posting this information there in the form of an article.
There is no other place than the one where people choose to rub faeces on the walls of their Capitol building and their handlers call them tourists. Those people touch counter protesters and get arrested for doing so. They also interrupt your zoom session. You don’t have to stand down wind of them to understand they reek of hatred and corruption.
You have your Voice Walter, and we won’t let them flourish. It will take the determination of many to clean things up but the few deserve a steel-toe boot and a hard heel down their shins. - both figuratively and literally. There is no place where cruelty and racism is going to win over more hearts and minds💙
Walter--The presentation you did about using tools to increase productivity has two sides to that same coin. Would you please break it down for all of us--maybe a list would be helpful. Such as, here's the list of instructions for using VoiceNotes and Substack features to turn that into transcripts, which you then can use for writing. (I never noticed VoiceNotes on my computer until you told me it was there.) Such as here's the Substack feature for creating LIVE meetings and the list of things to do in advance so disruptive people do not invade the safe space you created for conversation.
The point is you have gained experience with the tools and people just starting to heed your advice and use the tools need to know that there is some learning or preparation necessary for the tools to SERVE your needs and not be just a "gee whiz.... another app" kind of situation.
Glad you’re back. I’m sorry that happened. I think there are zoom controls that allow only participants. You were being nice and kept your stack open for everybody.
I'm sorry you had to endure such an awful attack, Walter. If there can be a silver lining, perhaps it is that you know you've gotten through to the bastards with your writings and they view you as a threat. So, keep on keepin' on.
Yes, it's another puzzle piece that will help me understand their psychology. That will help me defeat them. Thank you!
Agreed! As revolting and frightening as that must have been, it was targeted because they see your message getting through to others.
I hate to hear that happened to you - but hopefully there is a way to use it, learn from it, and grow.
I’m so sorry to hear about this videoconference attack. I think it points to the fact that those of us standing up for human rights and decency in this age of amplified white supremacy and unmasked racism are going to have to take more proactive steps to protect ourselves and our communities. I would encourage you to check out using Streamyard.com, which allows you to bring in guests and broadcast to platforms like YouTube, they also have a webinar feature which I heard is very good. You may want to offer a filtered registration for your webinars in order for people to have access to live chat and feedback. You are correct, the fact that this happened to you means that you’re doing good work and it has attracted negative attention from the trolls that seek to spread malice and chaos in the culture war. Keep doing the work of the “culture healer.” Maintain your HOPE in the goodness of so many human beings, and keep moving forward! #HealOurCulture
Thank you Wesley! I'll look into your suggestions. I'm going to take the next few days and regroup, and then work next week to fortify my security. Yes, they come after us, and I'm going to let everyone know that I've been the target of a white supremacist terror attack. I'll be attending the next schoolboard meeting in my community and I'll bring it up there. They've given me ammunition that I can use against them.
I would also recommend reading Renee DiResta‘s book “Invisible Rulers.” She has been, unfortunately, a repeated target for the same racist trolls around issues of vaccines and disinformation / media literacy. She has good insights to offer and is wise.
Thanks, I just put it on my list
I can only imagine how pathetic their lives are. Russell Banks characters in real life.
That sounds even worse than I imagined! What an ordeal. I hope your tech guys can block them. I have a saying I use for people who treat others poorly, gossip or whatever, “how sad it must be to be you”, but this is beyond that. I can think of a few choice words…
The whole thing probably only lasted about 30 seconds. I could go back and verify but I deleted the video. I didn't want a file with pornography on my computer. Still, it was traumatic. There are some truly awful people out there. Thanks Rusty!
When I was a kid I wore my heart on my sleeve which made me an easy target for bullies. There was no social media or cell phones so my family was my sanctuary. Walter, we are a family for you, your faithful readers, who respect and value what you bring to the conversation. The thing I learned long ago (using and old adage) What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger! I grew an inner strength in my experience, it truly made me a better person. You are part of a community that wants to bloom and flourish. The detractors are hiding in darkness so full of anger and self pity that all they can do is lash out to make everyone as miserable as they are. You’re, We’re already stronger. You are learning how to make this a safe space for people who truly care about each other and to silence the lost and ugly voices that want to tear it down. Strength has built within our community as the many voices of your readers are shouting support for what you are building. Bullies may win the fight but they can’t win the war as long as strength and community holds us together. Strength is what scares the bully because they don’t possess it. Together we stand!
That's such a lovely post Sande! Thank you so much. And yes, I do feel such an outpouring of support from you guys. It's wonderful!
I am glad that you had a sanctuary. My Mother told me as a child that I ruined her life by being born. My father despised me for upsetting my Mother by being born. I received no love at all. My life has been a lot of hell, but I am now 75, have a small home, and lots of cats and dogs who love me, so I am content. We do not all get to have good, happy lives, but we have to make the best of what we do get.
My heart goes out to you. I know how lucky I was as I have met many people like you, that struggled alone. You are a testament to the resilience of the human spirit. You have weathered your struggles alone and persevered. Look at you now, you have found solace and love. You should be proud of yourself! You are warrior!
Thank you!
I'm sorry you had to endure that Maria. I often felt unloved as a child too. We got a dog and that really helped. Retreating into the woods helped. I'm relying on a lot of those tactics today. Thanks for your support.
THANK YOU! I KNOW THAT YOUR POST WAS NOT DIRECTED AT ME, BUT IT HIT ME STRAIGHT ON. MY MOTHER TOLD ME AS A CHILD THAT I Had ruined her life by being born. She never loved me. She did not even pretend to like me until I was ten and she needed me to baby sit my little sister, who was the love of her life. My mother never ChANGED HER MIND. SHE HATED ME RIGHT UP TO THE DAY SHE DIED! AND EVERYTHIING WAS GIVEN TO MY SISTER. :(
THE PAIN IS PALPABLE!
There's a reason they hide behind nameless and faceless accounts. They're afraid that people will know they ain't shit.
Yeah, when you go to a school board meeting and you denounce white supremacy, you know who they are because they start to squirm.
I’m so sorry this happened but to reiterate what others have said, this isn’t your fault or anything to do with you personally. Unfortunately these jackasses(I can’t write the words I really think of them) are filled with hate and fear and you are making a difference in people’s lives and thoughts and they broke into the Zoom to spread their hate. So sorry you or anyone had to see and hear what they spewed. Best thing you can do is protect your Zoom meetings as this has happened to other groups. Ignore them and keep on doing what you do which is to educate, inform, and bring strength and resolve and beauty to what’s occurring in our world right now. You are a shining light in the darkness and strong voice in the chaos. Sending you peace after that awful incidence.
Thank you Kit! I really appreciate these kind words!
Oh my gosh, Walter! I had no idea this happened to you or to our great community here. That is so very sad… and maddening! I’ve been wanting to join your calls but the time slot is difficult for me. You offer so much value! I do believe these hateful people are the minority and there still are more good and kind people in the world, in spite of this horrible behavior. Thanks for all you say and do to represent that positive part of humanity. So sorry you were attacked for that. Sending love and protection. We will prevail. We will prevail.
Thank you Suzanne, it's another part of my education and I have learned the lesson... but not the lesson they wished to teach :) I appreciate you!
I AM GRATEFUL TO OTHERS WHO SHARE THEIR STORIES. SOMETIMES I FEEL SO ALONE THAT i JUST WANT TO SCREAM! i WAS TREATED SO BADLY AND i AM SUCH A KIND, CARING PERSON THAT i SIMPLY CANNOT COMPREHEND HOW THEY COULD HAVE DONE IT.
HOW ON EARTH CAN ONE PERSON TREAT ANOTHER PERSON SO BADLY? i DO NOT UNDERSTAND. I DON'T UNDERSTAND HATRED AND BIGOTRY AND ANIMAL ABUSE AND OTHER THINGS, BUT i AM verY AWARE THAT THEY EXIST. iT HURTS!
I tell my kids to go out into the forest and scream when they're angry. I do it too. The only thing that's helped me is to remember all the anger that was directed at me and use that to motivate me to treat people only with kindness. I've absorbed a lot of hate and I'll continue to absorb it. I'll be a hate sink so nobody else has to endure it, particularly not my kids. Now that I'm an adult, I can fight back a little too. Strength to you Maria! Know that you are loved and treasured by the people you have saved (because I'm sure you've absorbed many blows that were intended for others).
wow! i DO NOT THINK THAT I have ever encountered an other person who actuallyl seemed to understand me. I am not sure what to say. I am grateful to be understood. I am impressed by your empathy and compassion. The screams into the forest are something that I do not tell most people, but are an integral part of my survival.
WALTER RHEIN I REALLY WANT TO BE YOUR PEN PAL!
You are!
I READ YOUR POSTS AGAIN THIS MORNING AND I AM SO GRATEFUL TO FEEL THAT I AM NOT ALONE IN THIS WORLD.
Thank you Maria! I plan on exploring some of the ideas and emotions you churned up within me later this week.
reallyt tired ri\ght niow nd justneed a breakl S0rry but cfannot be her niow
Emotions are strange things.
for most of my life, I have kept them VERY private, but lately, I have found the need to express them. Lately I feel VERY much alone, and that is not a new feeling, but it is much more intense than it was before. I am surrounded by jerks. One of them literally poisoned me and my dogs and cats last summer and almost killed us. He claimed that he was getting rid of the dandelions. I like dandelions and use them in salads., and they were on MY property, not his. They are actually very healthy , but not when they have been poisoned. One of them stole my property and then accused me of begging for help after I had spent a week helping them. One of them steals from me on a regular basis. I cannot leave anything on my carport without the risk of him taking it. Bottom line is that I no longer feel safe in my own home. I am angry! I am hurt! I am afraid that they will escalate and hurt my dogs,. who are my best and only friends. I have been here for thirty years. One of my favorite things is feeding the birds. I have been doing it for the whole thirty years I used to wake up with birds singing in the trees and waiting for me to feed them, but new people have moved in and they have dozens of cars and trucks and they do not want birds around.,. so they use bird repellent machines My life is being stolen from me, Growing old is bad enough, but having your life stolen from you is incomprehensible!@ I AM ANGRY@@@@@
I used to run zoom meetings over the pandemic for 12 step recovery meetings. In the beginning we would always get "bombed" by the "zoom bombers" who would get meeting details and passwords from published listings on our associations web pages. These are the steps I took with zoom that really helped to nearly eliminate our meetings getting bombed:
1. Designate 1 host and 1 co-host max. It is best to not have more than a few people with access to the meeting's security settings.
2. Always use the waiting room. This can help prevent fishy or sketchy looking accounts from gaining access. It can be the co-host's job to manage the waiting room.
3. Do not allow people to change their names while in the meeting. What zoom bombers will do is enter a meeting, take a screenshot of the people that are there, exit the meeting and rejoin with someone else's name that was already in the meeting. Now they can start doing shady things and you won't be able to tell who the bomber is vs. who the legitimate attendee is. If people want to change their names, they have to exit and re-enter. That sucks for a legitimate attendee, but it needs to be that way.
4. Do not allow default access to the white board or screen sharing tools. You can grant access individually during the meeting if you want, but it shouldn't be the default for everyone in the meeting.
5. Do not enable chat until at least 15 minutes (I always did 30 mins) into the meeting. When zoom bombers join and they see they can't change their name, use white board/screen share and can't access chat, they usually bail and/or go somewhere else. It is much easier to eject people if they can only offend with their voice or video on.
6. This one can be controversial, but close off the meeting to attendees after 10 minutes, 15 minutes max. If an attendee is late, then tough luck. Unless someone in the room you know and trust can vouch for them, they'll have to catch the next zoom. Again, this sucks, but it needs to be this way.
7. This is one is optional, but have a way where people can register for the event with an email address and then send the meeting password 10 minutes before the event starts. This is not foolproof (none of these steps I've listed here are), but the more difficult you make it for the zoom bombers to access and disrupt the event, the better. They will go somewhere else instead.
This might seem like a lot, but I feel it is really what you need to do these days to keep your meetings safe for your attendees. I'm sure there are other settings and options that can be employed as well to secure your meetings. And not everyone will like or agree with what I have suggested, but for me, this has worked the best.
I wish you the best of luck in the future with your zoom events.
Thank you! Are you on Medium? You should post this as an article there!
You're welcome! I hope the suggestions become helpful. I'm not on Medium. I'm actually not exactly sure what that is. But I definitely would consider posting this information there in the form of an article.
There is no other place than the one where people choose to rub faeces on the walls of their Capitol building and their handlers call them tourists. Those people touch counter protesters and get arrested for doing so. They also interrupt your zoom session. You don’t have to stand down wind of them to understand they reek of hatred and corruption.
You have your Voice Walter, and we won’t let them flourish. It will take the determination of many to clean things up but the few deserve a steel-toe boot and a hard heel down their shins. - both figuratively and literally. There is no place where cruelty and racism is going to win over more hearts and minds💙
Walter--The presentation you did about using tools to increase productivity has two sides to that same coin. Would you please break it down for all of us--maybe a list would be helpful. Such as, here's the list of instructions for using VoiceNotes and Substack features to turn that into transcripts, which you then can use for writing. (I never noticed VoiceNotes on my computer until you told me it was there.) Such as here's the Substack feature for creating LIVE meetings and the list of things to do in advance so disruptive people do not invade the safe space you created for conversation.
The point is you have gained experience with the tools and people just starting to heed your advice and use the tools need to know that there is some learning or preparation necessary for the tools to SERVE your needs and not be just a "gee whiz.... another app" kind of situation.
Great feedback! I can do that for Monday!
Glad you’re back. I’m sorry that happened. I think there are zoom controls that allow only participants. You were being nice and kept your stack open for everybody.
No good deed goes unpunished.
Yup! Live and learn. I’ll have it fixed for the next time.
You be you. You are much appreciated. So sorry that happened.
Thank you!