Forum Discussion
Enable gif backgrounds for Microsoft Teams
ngath Too much work required; easier if Microsoft developers gives us this function in the next update.
TMorg2000 At the risk of sounding like an old curmudgeon, I would like to formally veto this request. We really don't need a bunch of irrelevant activity going on in the background while someone is talking or presenting. One or two animated backgrounds might be quaint; a dozen backgrounds with zombies eating brains, Hooters dancing girls, Wizard of Oz flying monkeys, Godzilla attacks, Warcraft Victory parties, Las Vegas Slots, and extreme weather gifs would be seizure-inducing - even if it takes the edge of those monthly TSP reports that Lundberg keeps asking about.
TechWonk I agree that this can be very distracting and possibly even unprofessional depending on your audience but this is best left up to the individual, small touches like this can greatly enhance presentations if used correctly.
While I agree that hordes of zombies may be too much for most meetings, if used correctly these have the potential to add a more polished finish - I agree that a custom static image background can suffice for most purposes.
Say I am proposing a new coffee machine and would like small unintrusive video background showing the machine in operation which could help explain the idea or maybe my company logo with a simple shimmer effect.There is a time and place for everything
TechWonk Group policy could disable the function for your org. Personally, I'd like seeing how others would use or misuse animated transparent GIF support. It reveals their character and lightens the mood. As our org has brought in many new hires and consultants during pandemic, it's would be plus. OBS virtual webcam can be used as a work around, so if your end users are tech savvy, you might see Scooby Doo walking around the background. Hopefully, you'll smile instead of grumble. As for distractions, a ViP recently left his camera on while another ViP was talking during a virtual townhall, so the whole company got to watch how distracted he was and count how often he touched his face, LoL.
Being a 365 Admin and **bleep** long as it can be disabled at any giving time I see no issues with it, not all meetings are 5-10-25-50 users 🙂
Still love you though!
TechWonk Have you seen the memo... we're putting new cover sheets on the TPS reports rather than the TSP reports.
Having now spent 2 years with an endless succession of fake offices and apartments behind people, I'd rathe have a blurred background or flying monkeys or extreme weather or just about anything else.
- TechWonk This is a little closed-minded. Teams isn't just used in your organization, nor is it only available for business users. MS has made Teams available for free to anyone, not to mention it's used for education. Easier GIF and animated background support is analogous to emoji, sticker, and GIF support in chat.
JBock Nope! I disagree. A chat thread that is peppered with an occasional emoji or gif is completely different from having to manage a meeting - professional OR informal - with someone whose background look like I just ate a bag of magic mushrooms. Combine that with the "Hollywood Squares" type of layout of Teams and it's an invitation to a world of spasms and seizures.
That being said, it's not like I oppose it. Rather, there has to be some limits that are outlined by the meeting organizer in advance. If someone wants to go all trippy and encourage everyone to have at'er with animated backgrounds - so be it. BUT, I still believe it would be extraordinarily distracting. To me, watching nine talking heads in front of animated fractals, strobing Escher drawings, and looping gifs of hockey fights for a half hour while attempting to make sense of an invoicing discrepancy just is not conducive to a focused meeting environment.
Because, by your comment, a Teams meeting could look something like this:
TechWonk It depends on people you are working with. Same can be said with inappropriate customs they might wear.
If you are a group of students and meeting for group assignments and chill parties, those rainbow background of yours would be a selling point and add fun to the meeting.
but if you are in a business setup, and use those rainbows as the background, it shows how unprofessional you are to everyone. Be the background, cloths/customs or glasses or hats you might wear during a call.
Recently I was interviewing a candidate who was using a calm chilling animated background. I know this should not be the case, but to me, this was a plus point and made me have a better impression on that candidate.
I don't think a feature should be disallowed because some people might be abusing it. It is more about creating a professional environment and culture so nobody in a business setup, choose those flashy distracting animations as their background.
Imagine you are in a wellness meeting and coach having this as a background:
Use of flashy backgrounds can be disallowed via company rules/policy/code of conduct and enforced same way that we enforce other means such as personal appearance, where nobody joins a team call wearing sleeveless tanks.
Nevertheless, until microsoft add support for directly choosing GIFs, workaround mentioned by MikeDoverskog works for whoever want to use animated gifs!
