What is it with poorly set-up meetings?

I need to get this off my chest. As someone who regularly attends #MicrosoftTeams meetings, I'm increasingly frustrated by organizers who don't understand the differences between "meetings" and "townhalls" and which one to choose for different purposes.

I've been in "meetings" where frustrated attendees couldn't join because the limit was 1,000 people. And in large meetings, where people rely on the "chat" to take questions or to "raise hands" and manage across 1,000 participants! I've also been in meetings where someone forgot to mute themselves and hear that all too familiar phrase "if you aren't presenting, please can you go on mute?". I really need to vent about this!

I hope that some organizers read this and realize how hard it is to focus when there are distractions like unmuted participants and trivial chat. I want to clarify the differences between the two options in the hope that it will help organizers in the future.

This table provides a quick overview of the key differences. Microsoft Teams Meeting is ideal for smaller, interactive sessions, while Townhall is better suited for larger, more formal events with limited attendee interaction.

And to avoid those people who forget to mute? Well, there is an option for a meeting organizer to disable cams and audio. Don't worry; you can either use Q&A or raise a hand so the organizer can select you and bring you off mute.

After scheduling the meeting and sending out the invite, the meeting organizer can disable the mics and cameras so that attendees can't use them during the meeting. All attendees (but not presenters) will join the meeting with mic and camera off.

1. Go to Calendar and double-click the meeting.
2. Select More options ... > Meeting options near the top of the screen.
3. Select Audio & video.
4. Turn off the Allow mic for attendees or Allow camera for attendees toggles.
5. Select Save.

So the attendee can ask a question, they can raise their hand (sounds a bit like school, doesn't it?) - Meeting presenters receive a notification that your hand is raised. They can then unmute the mic and/or video.