On Oct 7, 2013, at 12:03 PM, Ted Hardie <ted.i...@gmail.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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