[sandworm101]

>> or at least a physical cover.

I want a mechanical microphone switch too. Being seen can be embarrassing but being caught saying something can end your career instantly. See that school board that all had to resign after they were caught badmouthing parents.

[drcode]

Of course, let's not forget that the core problem here is the "end your career instantly" part, not the design of the microphone.

[sandworm101]

Just because something will end your career if overheard doesn't mean that it was something bad. Think of a lawyer on a long zoom call. What if they answer a client call and that conversation is pickup up by the zoom computer? Or what if someone in my office asks for login/account info and that conversation gets pickup by zoom? Or a system administrator sitting through a long zoom meeting about pension plans who accidentally has a side conversation about security issues on the production server. These are everyday acceptable office conversations that, if broadcast to zoom accidentally, can end a career far faster than looking unkempt on a webcam.

[notriddle]

Sending a video feed that you don't want to send is not okay, even if it doesn't put you out of a job. The excessive severity is just exacerbating something that would be a problem anyway.

[pwinnski]

By which I assume you mean that the core problem is that they were casually denigrating the parents rather than trying to work with them?

[ClumsyPilot]

Sometimes people vent. While I am not aware of that particular situation, bitching to your friends about some situation is different than live broadcast

[deadmutex]

I don't know how a mechanical microphone switch would have helped in that case.

That seemed to be a UX issue. The board was on a call with other members, and didn't realize that there was another participant. Some news stories just called it a "hot mic" issue because it is easy to glance and get an idea of what the story is about, but that's not exactly what happened.

[dv_dt]

An external microphone with a physical push to talk button would be a pretty perfect UX if that is your worry.

[cbm-vic-20]

And trusting that the internal mic is actually off.

[dv_dt]

Good point, my work-from-home "laptop" is a desktop I built so I guess I'm pretty sure there is no internal mic .

[atoav]

Although this might not be simple enough for typical users a (On)-Off-On toggle switch (momentary in one direction, latching in the other) would be perfect for this.

[nonameiguess]

Not sure what incident you're referring to, but school board is an elected position. Politicians, of all people, should not expect job security and need to be transparent and accountable to the voting public. They don't deserve privacy at all, at least not in their professional capacity. I like privacy, sure, but I achieve that by not running for public office.

[ojbyrne]

https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/21/us/california-school-board-re...

[paulcole]

If you’re saying things that can end your career instantly, be more careful about what you say?

[WalterBright]

So you don't share confidences with a trusted friend? I'm sad for you.

[filleduchaos]

I'm not going to lie, the assumption that everybody necessarily has career-ending confidences to share with their friends is very strange to me.

[WalterBright]

How people bond with their friends is by sharing confidences which builds trust between them.

They are not confidences if saying them publicly won't come back and bite you.

> everybody

I didn't say everybody, you don't need to turn it into an absolute to make your point.

I heard about an entertainer for kids who had a radio show back in the day. At the end of one session, he thought the mike had been turned off. But it was still hot, and he groused to the studio "That ought to hold the little bastards for a while."

Career ending.

[paulcole]

What the heck are you people saying that could end your career?

I say things that would get me fired but not things that would prevent me from ever getting hired again.

[__turbobrew__]

The goalposts of what is considered career ending is always moving. Something you say today could not be career ending, but it could be career ending when somebody digs up dirt on you in 10 years.

Just look at the whole wokeness movement which has taken root in the last few years and compare what was acceptable to say in 2010 vs what is acceptable to say in 2020.