A live consultation is a consultation (or meeting) held on the internet between an expert and an inquisitor. A live consultation can and should be used to answer a question when a simple text-based answer would not be sufficient or when extensive feedback from the inquisitor is required.

When a question is to be answered with a live consultation, it must first be scheduled for a time that is convenient for both inquisitor and expert. At the agreed time, both participants should login to the web site and join the live consultation. Afterwards, the inquisitor will be invited to save any notes made during the live consultation as the answer to their question, and the expert will indicate whether the question has now been answered; conversely, another live consultation may need to be scheduled if issues arose that could not be addressed or answered immediately.

Sometimes an inquisitor may want to have a stand-alone live consultation with an expert, without first posting a question up on the system. If this is available, a icon will appear against the expert's details whenever the expert is logged in; clicking on that icon will request a live consultation with the expert, although it is of course up to the expert to accept or decline the request.

The tools (listed below) available during a live consultation will depend on what hardware and client software you have. For best results it is recommended that you use client software that supports the H.323 teleconferencing standard and the T.120 collaboration standard, such as Microsoft NetMeeting; if your client software does not support these standards, you may not be able to hold a live consultation with someone using different client software.

• The video conferencing tool allows you to send and receive video images.
• The audio conferencing tool allows you have a normal conversation across the internet.
• The whiteboard is a graphical drawing tool that allows you to collaborate and exchange ideas & information.
• With text chat, you can conduct a real-time conversation via text messages.
• With file transfer, you can send a file to or receive a file from the other participant in the live consultation.
• With application sharing, you can allow the other participant to see the output of (or even take control of) a programme running on your computer.

You may prefer to use other client software, such as your VoIP client, in which case you should mention this in the "Notes" field when scheduling the live consultation - you will need to tell the other person what client software you want to use and what your ID or username is, so that they are able to call you to begin the live consultation.

You should thoroughly familiarise yourself with the workings of your client software (by reading the documentation, and from independent sources such as the Meeting by Wire web site) in advance of the live consultation, and you should also fully understand the security implications of each of the tools it supports. In particular, you should exercise caution when using the application sharing tool, and if you plan to use it to grant the other participant control over your computer you should find out how to revoke that control if they start to do something you do not want them to do (for example, on NetMeeting you can simply hit the Esc key and you'll have full control back).

If you connect to the internet using a proxy server, or if your computer is behind a firewall or NAT router, you may experience problems joining a live consultation; at a minimum you will probably find that incoming calls aren't possible (ie. you can initiate the live consultation, but cannot join a live consultation if the other participant initiates it), and you may also find that incoming audio/video doesn't work. You should consult the documentation for your client software, but if necessary you can mention your network configuration in the the "Notes" field when scheduling the live consultation to ensure that the other participant knows that you must initiate the call.

A few other points to remember during a live consultation are:

1. During the live consultation the other person will be able to find out what your IP address is, which has obvious security implications. You should therefore not participate in a live consultation with anybody you do not trust completely.
2. Your client software may be configured to reveal personal details such as your name and email address during the live consultation. If you do not wish this to happen, you will need to reconfigure your client software.
3. It tends to be better if both participants set their machines to the same resolution - you can use the "Notes" field when scheduling the live consultation to coordinate this.
4. If your client software is the NetMeeting ActiveX control embedded in the web site, you can change audio & video properties (including viewing the image you are sending) and other options by clicking on the "Undock NetMeeting" button.
5. Never allow the other participant to install software or send you a file unless you have first checked it for viruses.
6. In the application sharing tool, make sure you don't cover the window you are sharing with another window - the other participant can normally only see applications that are on top of your screen and visible to you.
7. It is often best to mute your microphone using the software mute function of your client software when you're not speaking.
8. If the other person disappears or suddenly goes quiet, try to wait around for a few minutes to see if they come back again (after restoring their internet connection). If they don't reappear, you will need to reschedule the live consultation.

If possible, you are advised to make a recording of your live consultation in case of a dispute. Your client software may allow some or all of the tools to save what has been done, or perhaps an independent software package is available to record the live consultation - contact the supplier of your client software for details.