BigBlueButton

BigBlueButton (BBB) is an open source web video conferences and chat system. Participants can join with their web browser. As of April 2020 the OSM Foundation has arranged for a BBB server to be set up in osmvideo.cloud68.co. This server is available for the wider OpenStreetMap community: it is being used for all sorts of OSM events – including virtual meetups, conference breakout chats, board meetings and birthday parties.

Getting started

To be able to host meetings, make an account at osmvideo.cloud68.co. This is automatically approved. Participants in the meeting do not need to make an account. The BigBlueButton project has some tutorial videos.

Some pointers

• Shared Notes disappear when the meeting ends. Be sure to copy them somewhere before ending the meeting.
• Joining the meeting: It is recommended to join meetings with "microphone" enabled, not "just listen". Even if you don't intend to talk, the first option makes it much easier to simply start talking if it turns out that participation is needed after all.
• Testing microphone/audio/screen sharing: If you don't hear yourself or the test sound during the audio test before you join, please select "no" and choose a different hardware option from the drop-down list.
• Large community meetings: It is not needed to let the OSMF know that you are using the server. However, if you are planning to host a larger event, please let OSMF know (board and then osmfoundation.org), so that we can make sure there is no scheduled maintenance and Cloud68 can keep an extra eye on the server (just in case). Do feel free to contact the Board if you have any questions.
• Option for participants to open the video-room: If you want participants to be able to start the meeting without having to wait for the host to arrive, enable the "Allow any user to start this meeting" option in the room settings.

Recording sessions

• OSMvideo account update needed: If you are organising OSM meetings on osmvideo.cloud68.co and wish to record them, your osmvideo account will need to be updated. Please send a message to dorothea and then osmfoundation.org with the subject: [osmvideo.cloud68.co] Change of account to record OSM community meetings. Initially, everyone could record the meetings, but this was disabled due to misuse.
• Break-out rooms currently do not seem to offer the option to record the sessions.
• Remove recordings: Please download and remove the recordings quickly. Server space is limited.
• Recordings' availability: It takes several hours for recordings to become available.

Low-bandwidth use

On most other video platforms, the only option to actively limit bandwidth, is by asking everyone to turn off their video. If you have bandwidth issues yourself, of course the first thing to do is to switch off your video (and even audio when not speaking). Upload rate is generally the first issue.

BigBlueButton has a special setting for users to limit the bandwidth required on their side. As a user, you can choose to not show the videos of other participants in the meeting. Once you have joined a meeting, hit the three dots in the top right of the screen. Then choose "Settings" and switch away from "Application" to "Data savings". There you can switch off "Enable webcams". This means other participants' webcams will not be downloaded to your device.

See also

• BigBlueButton on Wikipedia
• Website about the software