To ensure that the e-calendar works properly, it is good to follow a common set of rules. Here are the most important ones. Following good calendar practices is best way to make calendar reservations and organise meetings!
Up to date electronic calendar for all users
To use the meeting invitations and scheduling functionality to its full potential, the personal electronic calendars of all invitees should be up to date. This means that all upcoming meetings, vacations/free periods and personal working time slots should be marked on the calendars. The free/busy space is sufficient, but especially the busy and away spaces should be visible to all who book meeting times.
The reserved meeting time based on the calendar is not yet a fixed date
Although the scheduler functionality will ideally let you know when participants would be available for the meeting, the time is not fixed from the first reservation. Some participants may have for example, a blank space for a transfer from one campus to another, or a booked lunch time without a calendar entry, or may not have all their task and meetings marked in the electronic calendar at all. Thus, making a calendar reservation is only a proposal for a possible meeting time. The inviter must therefore still wait for responses from the participants before the meeting date is agreed by all parties.
Calendar invitations must be answered
You must respond to the calendar invitation received by clicking on Yes- Meaby- No. Only after this the entry will appear in the calendar in the correct position and the sender of the invitation will know which participants are available and can change the meeting time if necessary. In the case of a large mass meeting, it may be polite to press the small arrow next to the Yes- button (at least in Outlook desktop) and select "Do not send a reply". This will save the sender from dozens of reply emails. But especially for meetings with less than ten participants, it is a good idea to let the automatic reply go to the inviter.
If the meeting is important and the time is not convenient for you, it is very important to reply to the invitation using for example "Reply with comments:" "I can't make it at that time, let's make another appointment". A simple rejection is also possible, but then it may be useful to add a Teams message or an email afterwards explaining why you rejected the invitation.
"Meaby- fuction" is a possible answer to use if you are not yet sure whether you will be able to attend and can be used especially if it is not necessary for you to attend the meeting.