is it appropriate to tell my online students that they are entirely allowed to keep their cameras off unless their pet comes into the room in which case they are legally required to show the class

might make a list of things you can interrupt class with that are not specifically on-topic

- pet came in
- child came in
- your food is good and you want to tell us about it
- something amusing is happening outside
- you thought of a joke

relatedly, I have been thinking about how we are not at all ready as a profession for the level of wildin in the chat that we may encounter. this is the group chat generation they are going to be wilder and funnier than we are ready for

(fwiw: I hope and aspire to have some wildin in the class chats, and am rather looking forward to the entertainment/community-building/pedagogical possibilities here)

for anyone worrying about interruptions/being off-topic while online teaching, here is an incomplete list of interruptions to classes I've taught or taken:
- fire alarms, many
- firefighters lit a chemical fire outside the open window of the exam hall for training purposes

- student ordered a free sandwich from the Christian Union via a text (they were doing this as some sort of promotion), Christian Union person delivered it to him in class, I was too impressed to be annoyed by it

- drilling, at all times, in the walls of any given classroom
- classroom was above area used for lumber storage, in which said lumber was moved around with much noise
- whistling sound in upper corner of classroom in high winds I dubbed the 'Medieval Studies Ghost'

- senior scholar teaching in room before me refuses to leave anywhere close to on time, makes a Scene
- senior scholar teaching in room after me comes in ten minutes early, makes a Scene

- member of royal family visits university, teaching has to be moved around and most of it cancelled so she can do whatever it is they do
- room is double-booked because someone forgot that 4pm is 16.00 hours not 14.00