On Oct 7, 2013, at 12:03 PM, Ted Hardie <ted(_dot_)ietf(_at_)gmail(_dot_)com>
wrote:
Lastly, I think Pete has failed to capture that one reason for using humming
or hands is that it is easy for very active participants to dominate a
conversation
but much less easy for them to pretend to be a large group. Particularly in
BoFs, using those methods to indicate the likely breadth of interest is
critical. The same method can be used, with some of the caution Pete
recommends, to gauge whether an issue which appears to be contentious based
on a mic line is actually a problem. It can also, in some cases, be a
valuable method of reinforcing the resolve a room that has already likely
come to a broad agreement. That does not contravene Pete's point that this
should not be used to silence objections, but there are cases where it is
important in its own right.
In my working group, that is the principal use of a hum. It is useful when a
set of people have made a viewpoint known, and the chairs are trying to see if
that represents a general view, or whether a focused minority is speaking.
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