Page 5 - 2020 Summer

Our Centralia Rainbow brightened a dark day for a lot of people. time or both to do so by anyone lurking on the internet while sitting in
That is Freemasonry in action, and that truly is wonderful charity. dark room eating Cheetos and drinking Monster drinks. Some things
Personally, I am humbled to have learned something from the very we can do to improve security is not to post links to meetings in a
youngest members of our wider Masonic family. public place like Facebook, Instagram or Twitter; use passwords and
waiting room features and ensure that participants use their full
It is a lesson that I think we can all take back to our own Lodges
and communities. name when they enter a meeting and if you don’t know who they are
don’t let them in.
Cameron M. Bailey, Senior Grand Warden Cost – Paying a large fee to use a platform does not mean that it
is any more secure than a free for use platform. Free is not always

Brothers, good either. You will however get what you pay for so keep in mind
Zoom is a platform that can be that not all platforms are created equal. Zoom has been in use fairly
used to hold virtual meetings extensively by our Grand Jurisdiction over the last several weeks
with large numbers of people. It and with a great amount of success. The free version of Zoom will
is a tool and like any tool it must allow you to host up to 100 participants with a limit of 40 minutes
be utilized properly and which is more than ample for most of our needs. For $14.99 per
appropriately. There are many month you host 100 participants for as long as 24 hours on Zoom if
different platforms that can be
used to conduct virtual meetings you need the extra time. GoToMeeting starts with a $12.99 per
and gatherings. Go to Meeting, month plan for up to 150 participants with no time limit. Facebook
Skype, Sococo, Microsoft Teams has just launched Facebook Rooms where you can create a video
and most recently Messenger chat room via Facebook or the Messenger app for up to 50 people
Rooms with Facebook just to which is free. There are others that have been around like Skype,
name a few. Each platform has
Microsoft Teams and Sococo to name a few more.
its strengths and weaknesses.
I believe that as we entertain Ease of Use – In my experience each platform has a learning
RWB Edward C. Woods the utilization of any of these curve. You have to work with it to get accustomed to the features.
platforms it should be done in a
Many of the platforms provide excellent assistance in addressing
Junior Grand Warden calculated and cautious way. common issues. The important thing you need to do is find the one
We should vet each of the platforms and make a decision as to that works for what you need it to do.
which ones should be used or are best suited for our needs and the What are your needs – are you just having a face to face virtual
Fraternity. Some considerations (keep in mind I am not an expert, I meeting? Do you have presentations or presenters? Do you need
just know enough to get myself into trouble), should include: How the ability to use chats and document sharing? What are you trying
secure is it, the cost involved, ease of use and your needs. to accomplish? If you just want to bring the Brothers together for
Security – Let me start by saying that there is NO guarantee of some fellowship or mentorship then Zoom will likely fit the bill nicely.
how secure these platforms are. They are hosted in the public If you have other complexities you must accomplish then you will
domain and are subject to compromise by anyone with the skills, need to research the other platforms or possibly pay for an upper tier

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