Seconding this. So many people are adamant on video being a necessity or suitable substitute for in-person meetings, specifically the aspect of visually seeing

Seconding this. So many people are adamant on video being a necessity or suitable substitute for in-person meetings, specifically the aspect of visually seeing people. Yet, I find most of the things people visually do in person to be fluff that can be done without. Meanwhile, video-conferencing either requires an expensive setup (not everyone here works in the US, let alone FAANG) to really start emulating "in-person", or it forces somebody to self-police themselves to a much larger degree sitting in front of a webcam with no video or audio privacy (I guess this at least emulates the open office disaster). And it still misses the forest for the trees. Additionally, trying to shoehorn fun into work rarely works. (Also, as far as I know, there is no way to stop looking at your own face in Teams besides turning off the cam. Looking at a mirror 24/7 isn't even close to reality).