Unassigned OGL, other OGLs (sub buddy/alternate host), AOTs, and OTs may substitute for the OGL.
How Substitute Hosting works:
- Every meeting has its own pair of meeting links
- A Host (or “Start Meeting”) link for the leader to host the meeting
- A Join Meeting link for participants to attend the meeting
- The Substitute Leader must use the absent leader's Host (Start Meeting) link; NOT their own
Online Group Leaders (OGLs) can have a Substitute Host lead their weekly discussion groups when they are unable to. Please follow the directions below:
- Copy your “Start Meeting” (or Host Meeting) link
- Send the copied link to the Substitute*
- The Substitute Leader clicks on the received link to Start the meeting**
- Meeting participants do nothing different from normal
*The substituting leader must be a leader with a Host License.
**By copying and sharing the link on your My Group (OGL) page, you are sharing the Host capabilities with your fellow leader. You may also find the Host Link to copy on your My Calendar page. Please read these Support articles for more information: Leader - Host Link vs Participant Link and Leader - Online Meeting Link
To help OGLs find an Alternate Host (aka Buddy) to substitute lead their Online Group Discussion (ODG), please utilize the 'Find A Buddy' button in the Alternate Host section from the My Group Settings
Selecting ‘Find A Buddy’ opens a new page https://www.bsfonline.org/mygroup/buddy displaying all OGLs in your OLM. This feature only gives you a list of information, it will not notify your fellow OGL.
Selecting ‘+’ opens a pop-up screen displaying ODG information in the assigned leader’s time zone, not your time zone. All displayed meeting times are converted to the selected time zone and default to your time zone.
The ‘Alternative Host’ field on the My Group Settings page for OGLs, and the green circles that previously designated Alternative Hosts will not be utilized at this time. For this reason, please DO NOT enter a name in the Alternative Host dropdown field and Save Changes.