Frequently Asked Questions - online events

Do I need to pay to join an event?
All open lectures organised by the University of York are completely free to attend. 

Do I need to book a ticket?
Most open lectures require a pre-booked ticket. Each event has a dedicated web page which you can check for booking details. 

When does booking for an event close?
Tickets are available until one hour before the event starts.  

When will I receive a link to the event?
Once you have booked your ticket, you will receive a follow-up email with a link to the event two-days before, and this is repeated one-hour before the event starts.  If you don't receive that email in time, check your spam/junk folder.  If you still have problems please email us at open-lectures@york.ac.uk. 

How long do events last?
Most events are one-hour long, but this can occasionally vary. Please check the web page for your chosen event.

Do I need Zoom to take part in an event?
Many of our online talks use Zoom technology.  In order to watch these live, you may need to download the free app/software.  These events include a live question and answer session with the speaker/panelists.  Questions can be submitted through the Zoom Webinar software as part of the event.  

I cannot make the live event but would like to watch it. Do you record events?
Recordings of most live events are made available on our YouTube channel a few days after the live session.  

How can I ask a question during the event?
You can submit a written question using the Q&A button on your Zoom screen.

Do the talks have subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing?
Live captions are available on Zoom.

I can’t hear the audio – what should I do?
If you are unable to hear the audio, hover over the mute button in your Zoom window and click on the small arrow next to it. Select Audio Settings and ensure that the slider is at maximum for the speaker output. If you are still having issues, you may like to try selecting the volume function button on the top line of your laptop or PC keypad. If this doesn’t work please try plugging headphones into your PC or laptop. If this does not resolve the problem, try leaving the Zoom session and entering it again using the link you received.

How do I turn the live captions on/off?
Live captioning is available for the majority of online events. On most devices this is accessed via the ‘closed captions/live transcript’ button at the bottom of your screen. However, if you are using a mobile, you will need to minimise the webinar using the “…” button, then tap the cog icon and scroll down to ‘closed captions’ and turn them off/on. You can then restore the webinar.

I’m worried about your use of Zoom webinar for some events. Is it safe?

• ‘Zoom is spyware’ - this is about Zoom’s ‘attendance tracking’ feature, which allows the host of a meeting to see if attendees are looking at the screen, and what software they are running. This does raise privacy issues so this is disabled this for the University of York.
• Zoom bombing - links will not be shared on social media and all users will automatically not be on camera or microphone, apart from our speakers of course! 
• No end-to-end encryption - no business platform (Skype etc.) offers this as it would preclude allowing joining by telephone. Zoom Conferences are protected against interception to and from the Zoom servers. 
• Security Flaws – this is a real issue, but Zoom is no worse than other video conferencing software such as Skype, Citrix or WebEx. It’s had security issues in the past, like all the other vendors, and patches have been issued. There’ll be issues in the future as well we’re sure, so do keep the software up to date.
• Facebook data sharing - it was discovered that Zoom was sending data to Facebook. This was due to Zoom’s use of a Facebook software kit in their iOS app, and Zoom removed it when the issue was pointed out. Again, other companies have had similar issues with this Facebook SDK.

If you can’t find the answer to your question, please email us at open-lectures@york.ac.uk.