While I generally know what toggling them off and on does...I actually don't really.
For those that don't have microphone symbols next to their name, I'm going to assume that that's simply because they aren't playing through Steam?
Otherwise for those that do...
1. Toggling yours off just makes it so the other people cannot hear what's coming our of your recording device. Is that correct?
2. What the heck does toggling other's mics do then? It certainly isn't turning them off in my case, unless that's just some sort of lingering glitch on my behalf. Perhaps it makes it so just that person in particular won't be able to hear from your recording device?
3. Can those without Steam hear from your device?
You don't have to answer the questions directly if you can give a general explanation. Regardless, thanks for any help and clearing of confusion.
From what I have seen, only the party leader can disable a microphone someone else is using. Disabling it while not the party leader or the one using it shows it has been muted but you can still hear them screaming. You can disable your own manually or unplug it. Alternatively you can disable having to deal with anyone using a mic through the options menu.