Introduction(s) to HCLS IG

Several new people have joined HCLS IG http://www.w3.org/2001/sw/hcls/ 
lately. Welcome! We have a tradition of sending an Introduction so the 
mailing list to help participants get to know each other and find common 
interests. Would those of you who haven't yet done so please send an 
introduction to the list? The introductions to date are archived here 
(thanks to Duncan Hull's initiative): http://esw.w3.org/topic/Introductions

If you are new to HCLS IG, be sure to look at 
http://esw.w3.org/topic/HCLSIG. There you will find an overview of the 
group's task forces. Each task force meets either weekly or bi-weekly in 
a teleconference. Time and day of the week, as well as access 
instructions are on the main wiki page for each task force.

The use of IRC and Zakim (a teleconference bridge) help 'telcon' 
participants to more easily communicate and capture information. Below, 
you will find some information that will help you to make the most of 
our online teleconferences.

Best,
Scott

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IRC
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* If you do not have an IRC client installed on your computer, you can 
get one of the many free one (search "irc client" and your platform), or 
you can use a web-based client.

One possible web-based client you might try is Mibbit 
(http://www.mibbit.com/chat/). If you use mibbit, fill out the blanks 
like this: you need to click on "Server" (highlighted in red in attached 
image) to reveal the "Server address" field. NOTE: this meeting will use 
the "hcls" channel, NOT "hcls2" as seen in the attached screenshot.

(Note that I suggest using port 80 from mibbit. The W3C irc server 
supports this, and it neatly bypasses enterprise firewall issues that 
many users seem to be having with port 6667.)


+++++
Zakim
+++++

Teleconferencing at the W3C is based on a customized telconferencing
system called Zakim [3][4]. Zakim is combined with IRC to facilitate a
meeting with a set of services including tracking of speaker queues,
registering names to caller's telephones, and generating transcripts of
the meeting.

Prior to the call, please either check that you can access Web IRC [5],
which requires a W3C login and password, or install and run an IRC
client program on the machine that you will use during the conference [6].

QuickView Guide to Zakim Commands

       IRC command        Touchtone    Description
----------------------------------------------------------------------
|  q+                   | 41#   | add me to the speaker's queue      |
|  q-                   | 40#   | remove me from the speaker's queue |
|  zakim, mute <name>   | 61#   | Mute my phone                      |
|  zakim, unmute <name> | 60#   | Unmute my phone                    |
----------------------------------------------------------------------

A few basic guidelines will help new participants in the Kickoff Telcon
to get off on the right foot:

Calling in
When you call in, please announce your name after the two tone beep that
marks entry to the meeting. Please mute your phone immediately after
announcing yourself. This will prevent background noise from entering
the shared audio for the teleconference.

Muting your phone
  From a touch tone phone, 61# Mutes and 60# unmutes. "zakim, mute
<name>" also works, as well as "zakim, unmute <name>". Don't forget to
unmute when it's your turn to speak!

Raising your hand to talk
  From IRC, the command is "q+", which places your IRC name on the queue.
41# is the touch tone equivalent. This system helps to ensure that
everyone gets a chance to speak. q- or 40# takes your name off the queue.

[1] http://esw.w3.org/topic/HCLSIG/
[2] http://esw.w3.org/topic/HCLSIG/Meetings/2008-06-12_Conference_Call
[3] http://www.w3.org/2001/12/zakim-irc-bot.html
[4] http://www.w3.org/2002/01/UsingZakim
[5] http://cgi.w3.org/member-bin/irc/irc.cgi
[6] http://www.w3.org/Project/IRC/#Client