I was invited to a conference call on Skype (it's a popular online conference call application, for those who aren't familiar). I texted a colleague who was also invited. I asked her, "Will you be attending the call?"
It occurred to me that "attending" would be correct for a face to face meeting, such as "Will you be attending the meeting?" or the more casual "Are you going to the meeting?" But it occurred to me that the word might not be precise. "Will you be joining the call?" is probably closer, as in "Bob just joined the call". But that still doesn't sound right. Is there a better word for attend when referring to an online call that no one has to leave their desk to be present at?
Best Answer
A conference call is one where there are more than two interlocutors.
One does not attend a call (telephone). One can participate in a conference call. One can take part in a conference call. One can "be on a conference call".