Participant

What is a Participant?

A participant (also called attendee or member) is anyone who joins a video conference meeting. Unlike the host, participants have standard user permissions and limited control over meeting settings. Participants can see and hear other attendees, communicate through audio/video, share content (if permitted), and use collaboration features, but cannot manage meeting-wide settings or moderate other participants.

The participant role is the default role for most users joining a meeting, with the host having the ability to promote participants to co-hosts or assign additional privileges as needed.

Participant Capabilities

Standard Permissions

Typical capabilities available to all participants:

• Audio/Video Control: Mute/unmute their own microphone and turn their camera on/off
• View Other Participants: See video feeds and participant list
• Screen Sharing: Share their screen (if host has enabled this permission)
• Chat Messages: Send messages to everyone or specific participants (based on host settings)
• Reactions: Use emoji reactions, raise hand, or other non-verbal cues
• View Shared Content: See screens, presentations, or files shared by others
• Rename Self: Change their own display name
• Leave Meeting: Exit the meeting at any time

Restricted Actions

Actions participants cannot perform without host privileges:

• Cannot mute other participants (except themselves)
• Cannot remove participants from the meeting
• Cannot admit participants from waiting room
• Cannot lock the meeting or end it for others
• Cannot start or stop recording (in most platforms)
• Cannot create or manage breakout rooms
• Cannot change meeting-wide settings
• Cannot promote or demote other participants

Types of Participants

Authenticated Participants

Participants who join with verified identities:

• Organization Members: Employees or members of the host's organization
• Invited Guests: External participants with calendar invitations or access links
• Registered Users: Participants with accounts on the platform

// Join meeting with authentication
const session = await join({
  url: meetingUrl,
  token: authenticatedUserToken,
  userName: 'John Doe',
  userData: {
    role: 'participant',
    email: '[email protected]',
    department: 'Engineering'
  }
});

Anonymous Participants

Participants joining without formal authentication:

• Guest Users: Join via public link without account
• Limited Visibility: May have email domain shown instead of full details
• Additional Screening: May require host approval from waiting room

Special Participant Types

• Presenters: Participants with elevated permissions to share content (common in webinars)
• Panelists: Speakers in webinar-style meetings with audience visibility
• Attendees: View-only participants in large events (can't unmute or share)
• Interpreters: Participants providing live language interpretation

Participant State Management

Connection States

Participants can be in various connection states:

• Joining: In the process of connecting to the meeting
• Waiting: In the waiting room awaiting host admission
• Active: Connected and participating in the meeting
• Away: Joined but inactive (may be in another app/tab)
• Reconnecting: Temporarily disconnected, attempting to rejoin
• Left: Exited the meeting

// Track participant state changes
socket.on('participant-state-changed', ({ participantId, state, reason }) => {
  updateParticipantUI(participantId, {
    state: state, // 'active', 'away', 'reconnecting'
    lastActivity: Date.now()
  });
  
  if (state === 'reconnecting') {
    showNotification(`${participantName} is reconnecting...`);
  }
});

Media States

• Audio Muted/Unmuted: Microphone state
• Video On/Off: Camera state
• Screen Sharing: Currently sharing screen or not
• Hand Raised: Requesting to speak
• Speaking: Currently speaking (detected via audio level)

Participant List and UI

Participant Panel

Most video conferencing applications display participants in a dedicated panel:

• Sorted List: Alphabetically or by join time, with host typically shown first
• Status Indicators: Icons showing mute status, hand raised, screen sharing
• Audio Levels: Visual indicators of who is speaking
• Connection Quality: Network strength indicators
• Quick Actions: Buttons for direct messaging, pinning video, etc.

// Participant data structure
const participant = {
  id: 'user-123',
  name: 'John Doe',
  role: 'participant',
  isHost: false,
  audio: {
    muted: false,
    level: 0.75 // 0-1 range
  },
  video: {
    enabled: true,
    quality: 'high'
  },
  connectionQuality: 'good', // 'excellent', 'good', 'poor', 'reconnecting'
  joinTime: 1640000000000,
  handRaised: false,
  reactions: [],
  screenSharing: false
};

Grid vs Gallery View

• Grid View: Equal-sized tiles for all participants
• Speaker View: Large view of active speaker, thumbnails of others
• Gallery View: Paginated grid showing all participants
• Custom Layouts: Spotlighting specific participants

Participant Interactions

Non-Verbal Communication

Participants use various non-verbal methods to communicate:

• Raise Hand: Request to speak or ask a question
• Emoji Reactions: Thumbs up, applause, heart, etc.
• Status Updates: Away, Do Not Disturb, In a Call
• Custom Reactions: Platform-specific animated reactions

Chat and Messaging

Participants can send messages with various scopes:

• Public Chat: Messages visible to all participants
• Private Messages: Direct messages to specific participants
• Host-Only Messages: Questions or notes sent only to host/moderators

Polls and Q&A

• Answer Polls: Respond to surveys or questions
• Submit Questions: Ask questions in Q&A panel
• Upvote Questions: Vote on other participants' questions

Implementation in WebRTC

Adding Participant to Meeting

// Server-side: Add participant to meeting
function addParticipant(meetingId, userId, userData) {
  const participant = {
    id: userId,
    name: userData.name,
    email: userData.email,
    role: 'participant',
    joinTime: Date.now(),
    mediaState: {
      audioMuted: true, // Muted by default
      videoEnabled: false
    },
    permissions: getParticipantPermissions(meetingId)
  };
  
  // Add to meeting participants list
  meetings.get(meetingId).participants.set(userId, participant);
  
  // Notify existing participants
  broadcastToMeeting(meetingId, {
    type: 'participant-joined',
    participant: participant
  }, userId); // Exclude the joining user
  
  // Send participant list to new user
  sendToUser(userId, {
    type: 'meeting-joined',
    meeting: getMeetingInfo(meetingId),
    participants: Array.from(meetings.get(meetingId).participants.values())
  });
  
  return participant;
}

Participant Permissions

// Define participant permissions based on meeting settings
function getParticipantPermissions(meetingId) {
  const settings = getMeetingSettings(meetingId);
  
  return {
    canShareScreen: settings.allowParticipantScreenShare,
    canChat: settings.chatEnabled,
    canSendPrivateMessages: settings.allowPrivateChat,
    canRaiseHand: true,
    canReact: settings.reactionsEnabled,
    canRenameself: settings.allowRename,
    canUnmuteSelf: settings.allowUnmute || false,
    canEnableVideo: settings.allowVideo !== false
  };
}

Participant Limits

Platform-Specific Maximums

• Zoom: Up to 1,000 participants (varies by plan), 49 videos on screen
• Google Meet: Up to 500 participants (Enterprise), 49 tiles in grid
• Microsoft Teams: Up to 10,000 view-only attendees (webinar mode), 1,000 interactive
• Webex: Up to 100,000 view-only, 1,000 interactive

Performance Considerations

• Video Rendering: Browser limits on simultaneous video decodes (typically 25-49)
• Bandwidth: More participants = more streams to receive (in P2P or SFU)
• CPU Usage: Each video decode requires CPU resources
• UI Complexity: Large participant lists require virtual scrolling and pagination

Best Practices for Participants

Meeting Etiquette

1. Join on Time: Arrive a few minutes early to test equipment
2. Mute When Not Speaking: Reduce background noise
3. Use Video: Enable camera for better engagement (when appropriate)
4. Professional Background: Use virtual background or ensure clean environment
5. Dress Appropriately: Dress as you would for in-person meeting
6. Minimize Distractions: Close unnecessary apps, silence phone

Engagement Tips

• Use Reactions: Provide non-verbal feedback to avoid interruptions
• Raise Hand: Wait to be recognized rather than interrupting
• Use Chat Thoughtfully: Share links and ask questions without disrupting flow
• Pay Attention: Don't multitask excessively, stay engaged

Accessibility for Participants

• Closed Captions: Enable live captions for hearing impaired
• Screen Readers: Support for visually impaired participants
• Keyboard Shortcuts: Quick access to mute, camera, hand raise
• High Contrast Modes: Visual accessibility options
• ASL Interpretation: Pin interpreter for deaf participants

References

• Roles in a Video Conference
• WebRTC Solutions for Scalable Webinars
• WebRTC Group Video Call Developer Guide