Telecon in Progress

Right. Telecons: Good or bad? Discuss.

Good: participants can't see your face when you stick your tongue out, or (if you have a mute button) hear you swearing at them; you can do virtually anything else and no one knows, from cleaning to blogging to, I suppose, showering...or sleeping; not having to be in the same zip code as people who are really obnoxious; can "develop technical problems" and hang up and "be unable to reconnect"

Bad: who the hell is this talking?; no body language and non-verbals (similar to email/IM misunderstandings); inability to physically point at something and say "like this!"; static and overlapping talk; no way to really 'bond' with other people (unless you know them already)

N.B.: This list is not inclusive, and purposely does not discuss the native intelligence needed to organize and/or participate in meetings in general. Because, like common sense, native intelligence isn't as prevalent as one would think. An example: "What's a policy? What's a procedure?" How can someone reach a state-level position of authority and not know this basic differentiation??