Chapter 23 Moderator

Participant Management

As a moderator, you have a complete overview of all participants in your BigBlueButton meeting. The participant list lets you monitor who is present, check their microphone and camera status, and take individual actions such as muting, promoting, or removing participants.

Reading the Participant List

The participant list on the left side of the screen shows all people currently in the meeting. Each entry displays the participant's name along with several status indicators:

  • Role icon — a square icon indicates a moderator, a round icon indicates a regular participant.
  • Microphone status — a green microphone icon means the participant is unmuted, a red crossed-out microphone means they are muted, and a headphone icon means they joined in listen-only mode.
  • Camera status — a camera icon appears when the participant has their webcam enabled.
  • Active speaker — the currently speaking participant is highlighted in the participant list and above the presentation area.

Participant Context Menu

Clicking on any participant in the list opens a context menu with several moderation actions:

Click on a participant's name in the participant list.

A context menu appears with the following options:

  • Start a private chat
  • Make presenter
  • Promote to moderator
  • Mute
  • Grant whiteboard access
  • Remove from meeting

Select the desired action. The change takes effect immediately.

Removing a Participant

If you need to remove someone from the meeting, you can do so through the context menu:

Click on the participant you wish to remove.

Select Remove from meeting from the context menu.

The participant is immediately disconnected from the conference.

Removing a participant is immediate and cannot be undone. The person can only rejoin by using the meeting link again (subject to waiting room approval if enabled).

Exporting the Participant List

BigBlueButton allows you to export a list of all current participants, which is useful for attendance records in seminars or courses.

Click the gear icon above the participant list.

Select Save participants from the dropdown menu.

A .txt file containing the names of all present participants is downloaded to your device.

The participant export feature is especially useful for seminars and courses with mandatory attendance. Export the list at different times during the meeting to track late arrivals and early departures.

Active Speaker Indicator

The currently active speaker is visually highlighted both in the participant list and above the presentation area. This makes it easy to identify who is currently talking, which is particularly helpful in meetings with many participants.

Frequently Asked Questions

No. Participants must be removed individually through their context menu. However, you can use lock settings to restrict participant permissions instead of removing them.

The participant list is exported as a plain text (.txt) file containing the names of all currently present participants.

Yes. A removed participant can rejoin by clicking the meeting link again. If the waiting room is enabled, they will need to be approved by a moderator again.

A green microphone icon means the participant is actively unmuted. A red crossed-out microphone means they are muted. A headphone icon means they joined in listen-only mode and cannot speak.