I think the team has been doing as much as possible to promote inclusivity and include everyone, support communities of all types, and encourage participation. I don’t think there is an absence or invisibility. You can check some of the forum topics that relate, such as:
Should we have dedicated features for LGBT+ members?
“Preferred gender” option for hosting
Designing Search to support safety and diversity
&
What’s the purpose of the gender field?
These topics illustrate a bit how Couchers.org handles and approaches ideas from various groups and how friendly our tone is about it. Our moderation team isn’t as diverse as it could be, but we’re always open to adding more moderators of different backgrounds, too.
l do not agree that it feels/ looks fine to a would be participant if they do not have the technology, nor would they be perceived the same way by others in the meeting.
it’s not possible for someone to participate in a video chat if they can’t stream videos and have no camera.
Aw, I have to disagree with you. We run two weekly online social events with the whole community (and a lot of other volunteer meetings) and no one is ever excluded for not using their camera. Lots of people join on a regular basis (week 66!) who can’t use their camera (or simply don’t want to) and others who have a weak connection, and we are very happy to still get to know them and include them. It’s not a problem for our community at all. In fact, it gives the community perspective and insight as to how the world is coping with the pandemic and leaps and bounds in tech.
Either way, thanks for your thoughts! Got a bit off topic here but if you want to continue the discussion about the need for better representation/visibility or the use of technology in building our communities, I think those are two great topics we could start!