Scribing Commands and Related Info

From WCAG WG

This document provides some basic scribing commands and related information.

Scribe Commands and Tips for During the Meeting

  • Scribe: Name (assigns the scribe)
  • SpeakersInitials: (capture the gist of what the person says)
  • ... (continue capturing what is being said without retyping the same speaker's initials or name again.)
    • If you don't know who is speaking, ask the speaker to identify themself.
    • Ask the speaker to repeat what he or she said, if it is important and you missed it.
  • Zakim, next item (brings up the next agenda item) or you can use TOPIC: at the start of each agenda topic.
    • If Zakim says the agenda was just opened, say Zakim, close this item then re-issue the next item command.
  • RESOLUTION: (resolution text)
    i.e., RESOLUTION: Updated CFC proposal accepted.
  • s/misspelling/correct spelling/ (Syntax to correct spelling errors and mistakes) i.e.,
    s/staus/status/
    Note this must be written absolutely perfectly (any difference of case, punctuation, spacing, etc will cause it to fail), and it chokes if you have a slash in what you are trying to change.
    • @@ can be used as a marker while scribing for information missed that you want to fill in later. Then before sending the minutes search for "@@" and use the s/X/Y/ syntax to fill in any missing details. It may help to add a number, such as @@1, @@2, as the replacement command will only replace the most recent instance of the search string.

Scribe Post-Meeting Commands and Tasks

  • rrsagent, make minutes
    • Wait a couple minutes, then check if the minutes load at the URI rrsagent gives.
    • If the URI shows 403 after a few minutes, try rrsagent, make log world to make sure the minutes are publicly visible.
    • If the minutes don't show up after a few minutes still, re-issue the make minutes command. Sometimes it takes a couple tries.
  • zakim, end meeting
    • will generate the minutes one more time and dismiss the bots. If needed, zakim, bye and rrsagent, bye will dismiss them individually.
  • Draft an email that contains a link to minutes.
    • It is appreciated to have any Resolutions near top of email.
    • Very short (perhaps bulleted) summary is much appreciated. The agenda can very help with this.
  • Send the email to the group.

Related Commands

During the Meeting Commands for Participants

  • If something is scribed wrong or not well enough don't be afraid to improve it with the s/X/Y/ syntax as described above.
  • present+ Your Name (Each person present should add themself to the list of people present)
  • q+ (adds you to the speaker queue. Try to use the queue rather than jumping in on a conversation.)
  • q- (removes you from the speaker queue)
  • q+ to say [topic] (adds you to the speaker queue with an indication of what you want to say, which helps the chair prioritise.)
  • /me non-minuted comment (to make a comment that you don't want recorded in the minutes) i.e.,
    /me feels like a beer (will not get recorded) but
    I feel like a beer (will be recorded for posterity. And also make the minutes more painful to read.)
  • /msg rrsagent help (get rrsagent help in a private channel rather than cluttering up the entire thing)
  • /msg zakim help (get zakim help in a private channel rather than cluttering up the entire thing)

Pre-Meeting Setup Commands for those Running the Meeting

  • agenda: url
  • rrsagent, set logs world-visible
  • regrets+ person's_name, person's_name, person's_name, person's_name
  • Zakim, agenda?
  • Chair: Chair's Name (assigns the chair for the meeting)

Further Information