1. How so?, if you can send DTMF commands such as:-
Then surely you have the means to admit/refuse entry to the meeting to guests individually and to all in one fell swoop? Why after so many years is this lame message still played-out on Cisco WebEx Meetings?
2. Admitting to directly (after many years, still the current behaviour), breaks the common courtesy of KBE protocol:
Sending notifications to the host that someone has just come into their private meeting room or meeting has been absent from the start and in the backlog for at least a year. How long, Cisco, will you forget?
Hi Kathy, thanks for trying to help. I am admin. Two SRs opened and closed ~18months apart. Same outcome: "Oh, yes, I see what you mean. When I joined before you opened the call, you didn't know I was waiting, I didn't get any option to let you know I was waiting..
OK. So, having looked into this, although we really do see what you mean, as TAC It's not a defect so we'd be grateful for your agreement to close this SR, but don't worry, we'll raise this for you as an AHA. Obviously that's best efforts without any SLA or other guarantee so we can't promise anything will come of it -- hope you understand!"
Hi Katy, thanks for trying to help.
Then, in User Hub:
Back in 2023, there was an option (see the last check box) to allow attendees to notify the host that they are waiting:
But they removed it:
Absent notification is related but distinct from "Entry and exit tone". The combining of "Entry and exit tone" in one setting was unwise and unhelpful: They should have been separate. You might want to set entry tone to be alerted of someone joining an in-progress meeting while allowing folk that need to drop to jump to another, to do so without causing disturbance to the continuing meeting.
Having separate defaults for "Entry and exit tone" for PMRs vs. scheduled meetings is good enough. Scheduled meetings might be large so being able have the default setting of no "Entry and exit tone" might be be helpful. Whereas, PMR meetings might typically be small, so being able to have the default setting of "Entry and exit tone" on might be helpful. Those are in-meeting notifications.
For each of these three cases there need to be settings for the desired level of notification:-
- You're in your meeting room and a guest arrives - The "Knock Before Entry" case
- They're in your meeting room or scheduled conference but you're not - The "Absent Host" case
- You're all in the meeting/meeting room - The "In-Meeting" case
But there are no settings in my admin Control Hub or User Hub to set notifications for each of those distinct cases.
In the first, KBE, case, this is exacerbated by the claimed nonsense that "You're hosting this meeting from a device that doesn't support lobby management". (Sounds like a veiled attempt to push you to install and use their app). If, from a device you can signal the platform to raise your hand and mute guests using DTMF you can surely admit a guest from the lobby into the call. But instead, Cisco just drops the guest into the call unannounced. It's a fake distinction between the capability of devices and app/WebRTC. In the KBE case, how difficult is it really to provide a choice of notification:
- Flashing the screen reverse-video/normal/reverse-video/normal/reverse-video/normal, so that if you've turned 90 degrees speaking to someone, you can still see in your peripheral vision the screen catching your attention; and/or
- Announcement "<guest-recording-of-their-name> has joined your meeting."; and/or
- Playing a Chime(TM) or beep; and/or
- Emailing you; and/or
- No notification
In the second, Absent Host, case, how difficult is it really to provide a choice of notification:
- Emailing you; and/or
- Calling you and INVITEing you into the meeting
In the third, In-Meeting, case, how difficult is it really to provide a choice of notification:
- Separate entry/exit announcement "<guest-recording-of-their-name> has joined/left the meeting."; or
- Playing a Chime(TM) or beep (different note, e,g, lower, for exit); or
- No notification
Here, I'm calling-out Cisco on the lack of any notification in the Knock Before Entry (case 1. above).
In AHA 14254, AHA 17141 and AHA 17147, I'm calling-out Cisco on the lack of any notifications for Absent Host (case 2. above).
But all three are needed.
Be assured, SRs have long-ago been raised, investigated, confirmed and closed with status: "To be put forward internally without any timescale". In the year, two years, since raised, there has been lots of frentic activity to add the deemed obligatory AI features -- meanwhile attention to bread-and-butter features, like notifications, that are less ATTRACTIVE, just languish, kicked into the long grass.
Lobby settings are controlled by the admin if you're account licensing is through an organization. Please reach out to your organization tech support or administrator for help with identifying why you're getting this message.
If you're using an individual account, please provide more information about the device that you are using to host the meeting as this could help to identify why you're getting the message.
