The International Association of Amateur Heralds

Not sure if this is the proper topic, but I have viewed two of the virtual lectures sponsored by The Heraldry Society this year. I found them most informative. Has anyone else attended online?

The next virtual lecture is associated with the Battle of Barnet on 16 September 2020 by Dr Andrew Gray FHS. Free to register here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/heraldry-in-the-battle-of-barnet-1471-tickets-116640770685.

I "attended" the first lecture but because of family commitments felt that it was not possible to attend the second. My son and his family joined us for a family meal (actually, we sent out for a Chinese). I felt that it would be rather rude to be in my office "attending" a lecture while the rest of the family were socialising. For that reason alone, I find the format of these lectures frustrating; the facility to record them is blocked so, in consequence of putting family first (as I should do), I have missed the second lecture which is very frustrating. In this day and age where we can time shift our viewing of Television by streaming past episodes, I think that it is vein elitism to refuse to allow a video of the lecture to be streamed. It would be far easier for The Heraldry Society, and far more convenient for its members and the wider public, to simply video each talk and put it onto a platform like YouTube than to pay for a zoom licence which, by its nature has restrictions on who and when it can be viewed. This is just my opinion and it is obviously coloured by the fact that I am "miffed" by the fact that it was impossible for me to see it!

Martin, this are all relevant facts, especially since the lectures are free. I agree that they would be better seen via YouTube or Vimeo at the viewer's discretion. I never attempted to try to record either of them.

I wonder if having the desktop version of Zoom allows recording over the browser version?

And then there are all the benighted folk without Zoom ...

Mark Henderson wrote:
I wonder if having the desktop version of Zoom allows recording over the browser version?

Sadly no, I used desktop and when I attempted to video the proceedings a note popped up stating that the video facility had been disabled by the host!

Chris Green wrote:And then there are all the benighted folk without Zoom ...

Zoom is free to download and (with limitations) free to use.

I have one other criticism which is not directed at the speaker(s). The lecture that I saw (the first of this series) had the chat feature enabled thus allowing viewers to make comments throughout the presentation. This resulted in a continuous flow of chat boxes popping up which I had to continually close down. It is difficult to ignore a continuous flow of comments; one is almost forced to read them and the majority we along the lines of "I like that coat of arms" or "that's a complicated quartering". I can understand the need for an open chat facility after the talk has finished to facilitate questions and answers but to have a continuous chat going on throughout the presentation was like being in the cinema and sitting next to someone who can't shut up!

Perhaps it's just me and perhaps the Heraldry society are on a learning curve.

I believe you could use one of the various screen recording programs to record, but sadly It would not be automatic. You would have to be present during the lecture in order to record.

I wonder if the IAAH might conduct our own virtual meetings or lecture in the future?

Mark Henderson wrote:I wonder if the IAAH might conduct our own virtual meetings or lecture in the future?

Sounds like one for Martin. I do not have the technology.