People Are Sharing Their Cringey Online Class and Meeting Fails

With lots of people suddenly working from home, meetings and classes have moved online. Whether you use Zoom, Google Hangouts, Skype, FaceTime, or some other video chatting app to connect with classmates or coworkers, the situation has proven to be quite fraught. You see, many people who are not used to video chatting in a professional capacity have been forced to all at once.

That has resulted in lots of embarrassing incidents and regrettable fails that I will now gather here for your amusement. Because we have to laugh at something, right? Right guys? People who are video-chatting for the first time seem to be surprised that other people can: A) see them; B) hear them; C) see what's behind them. It's caused a lot of problems.

Obviously, it's not funny that this professor is getting a divorce. But it is funny that all her students now know it's happening because she forgot to move the folder off of her desktop. I want to know if she eventually noticed it and tried to get rid of it or if anyone said anything.

As one Twitter user pointed out in the responses to this tweet, which went totally viral, "Do not mess with that woman.  She is organized and she is angry and she is smart." That seems like it has to be correct. She has got her life in order, neatly organized in folders, and that really says something! 

This is really something. I can't believe the whole class just sat there. I don't know what I would do if I saw that. This French teacher quickly learned that YouTube doesn't lie. 

This is not unlike a recent post to Reddit's TIFU (Today I F--ked Up) subreddit, in which a guy explains that while he was waiting for his lecture to start, he started watching porn, or as he calls it, "intimate stuff." When he got the link to join the chat room, half an hour before class started, he figured he would join and just leave the chat room open on his laptop until class started.

AIn the meantime, he muted himself and continued watching porn. Why anyone would volunteer to walk this tight rope is asking for it, in my opinion, but anyway. He supposedly made sure the mics and the camera were off when he entered the chat. 

Then, he writes, "Lecture starts, and I am just NOT in the mood for this class. I decide to just leave it on in the background to count for attendance, and I'd catch up on my own time later. Now, keep in mind, I'm home alone, so of course, I'm blasting this porn at a fairly loud volume in my room." 

About half an hour into the class, there's the first lull in the lecture, and he realizes his mic hasn't been off the whole time. His porn echoed through the entire lecture chat room. 

Someone was taking a shower. Someone was taking a shower. During class! What! I get that you're home, and things are more relaxed, but you're still in class. You wouldn't normally shower in class. Why would you start now?

And the butt thing is just hysterical. Of course someone had their butt visible. Of course.

Who in their right mind would take their video class into the bathroom? If you really have to go that badly, leave the chat! Or leave your computer facing the wall or your dog or something for a few minutes. Anything. I'm really starting to feel like seemingly intelligent people have no idea how cameras work, and that's a bit concerning. 

I just learned that in Zoom, you can change your background, and this seems like simultaneously the best and worst thing in the world. Best because you don't necessarily have to think about what's actually behind you when you're chatting with, say, your boss.

But worst because, well, exactly what happened to this woman.

How does this even work? There's no possible way these 2-year-olds understand video chat etiquette. We just learned that even actual grownups still have no idea how to act when they're on camera. 

In a follow-up tweet, Kathryn writes, "'Everyone, I'm okay!' 2yo keeps shouting." How adorable and kind of heartbreaking is that? Apparently, lots of little kids classes are getting together over Zoom so they can see each other. 

When you look up "chaos" in the dictionary, I have to assume that's what you see.

Folks, the moral of the story is please pay attention to what's going on when you enter a video chat with another human being. I can't believe I have to spell this out, but cameras record what's actually happening. Just because you're not in the same room as another person does not mean that they can't see you wipe your butt if that's what you're doing when the camera is pointed toward you. 

With those wise words in mind, go forth. Zoom, Skype, and Hangout to your heart's content. It's important. But also, like, be chill.