Glossary
Activation Distance
The maximum number of tiles a user can be from an interactive object to interact with it, including diagonals.
Admin
The user role with full control of the Space. As an Admin, you have the privileges of both Moderators and Builders. Admins can add or delete other Admins.
Auto Idle Mute
Automatically turns off your camera and mutes your audio when you navigate away from Gather in your browser. This feature can be turned on and off from the User tab in Settings.
Background
The bottom-most layer of a map. A Gather Space is like a sandwich - the background is the bottom bread, the characters and objects are the filling, and the foreground is the top bread.
Beta Features
New functionality in Gather that has not been completely rolled out to all users. Toggle beta features on or off in the User tab in Settings.
Buffer Time
When you use the event checklist, you can add a custom buffer time, which will allow up to 25 guests to enter your Space when you specify. You can make your buffer time 15, 30, or 60 minutes, 1 day, or 1 week before or after the event start/end time, or you can keep your event Space always open.
Build Tool
Allows you to manage objects while you are in your Space. To open, click Build (the hammer icon) in the toolbar of your Space.
Builder
A user role that enables you to modify the Map of the Space. A Builder cannot add or remove other Builders or manage any other user role.
Character
The digital character (also called an avatar) that you choose to represent you in a Space.
Chat Panel
Displays chat with individual participants, those Nearby, in the Current Room, or Everyone.To open, select Chat (the chat bubble icon) in the toolbar.
Check Your Hair Screen
The window that displays every time you enter a Gather Space. (We call it this because you get to see your video preview and check your hair!). This modal shows a preview of your Gather character, a preview of your video feed, and the A/V selections for your camera, mic, and speakers.
Concurrent Users
People in your Space at the same time. When you make a reservation for your Space, you provide a Space capacity, sometimes referred to as "maximum concurrent users," which is the maximum number of people you expect to be in the Space at the same time.
Context Menu
The menu that displays when you right click (or tap on mobile) on a character. The menu includes options to start bubble, follow, requst to lead, send chat, and move here.
Custom Spawn Location
A custom-named Spawn tile (or tiles) you choose for guests to appear in a Space. This Custom Spawn Location translates to a URL, which is generated when you create a new event through the Gather Calendar tool. (Hint: The Custom Spawn URL will have "Spawntoken" in the path.)
Decorative Object
An image or asset uploaded or selected from default objects that is purely decorative and cannot be directly interacted with. Examples include tables and chairs.
Default Spawn Location
The tile(s) that first-time guests appear on when spawning into a Space. When a guest leaves the Space and re-enters it, they will respawn onto the tile they were on prior to leaving.
Do Not Disturb Mode
Changes A/V settings so that you only connect to people who are within one tile of you. Toggle on and off with the keyboard shortcut Ctrl/⌘+U. When in Do Not Disturb Mode, the status indicator next to your name is red instead of green.
Emcee
Master of ceremonies (MC). The person leading the event.
Emotes
The six icons for basic gestures. Click the smiley icon in the toolbar to view all options. You can use the Emotes icon or press the 1-6 keys to make the following icons display above your character's head: 1 = hand wave, 2 = heart, 3 = party popper, 4 = thumbs up, 5 = question mark, and 6 = raised hand. Emotes will disappear after 3 seconds, with the exception of the raised hand. Click Clear or type 6 again to remove the raised hand.
Foreground
The top-most layer of a Gather Map. A Gather Space is like a sandwich - the background is the bottom bread, the characters and objects are the filling, and the foreground is the top bread.
Global Build
Enables access to the Build tool for all participants, including guests, which opens the Object Picker and Eraser. In order to open the Mapmaker, a member must be an Admin or Builder.
Grid View
Expands the participant video carousel at the top of your Space so you can see up to 16 participants' videos or shared screens at a time. The videos display based on who connected to the conversation first and who is actively speaking. Click a video/screenshare to see a larger view of the content or person.
Info Card
The modal that opens when you select a person's name in the Participants pane.
From the info card, you can send the person a message, locate them on the map, follow them, request to lead them, and depending on your user role, spotlight them. You can also select the three dots in the top right corner to block the person, and depending on your role, ban them or kick them out of the Space.
Interactive Object
An object that contains some form of interactive functionality. Available Object Interactions include Embedded website, Embedded image, Embedded video, External call, or Note object.
Main Menu
The Gather icon in the far left of the toolbar. From the main menu, you can invite people to your Space, open the Help Center, send feedback, report an issue, or open Gather in the desktop app. If you are signed in, you can also upgrade your plan/access your Space dashboard and settings, depending on your user role.
Mapmaker
The editing tool that allows you to manage background and foreground images, objects, tile effects, and walls and floors, as well as create or connect new rooms within your Space. To open the Mapmaker, click Build (the hammer icon) in the toolbar, then select Edit in Mapmaker. Mapmaker opens in a new tab in most browsers. You know you are in the Mapmaker if you see a tile grid overlaying your Space.
Member
A user logged into the Space with their Gather account who has been set as a Moderator, Builder, or Owner in that Space. Members and Guests display in the Participants panel in remote work Spaces.
Moderator
The user role that has access to all controls in the Space Preferences and Space Access tab in Settings. A Moderator (Mod) can add or remove other Mods and Builders, but not Admins.
Object Active End Time
Sets the time when the object disappears from the map. Available from the Object Interactions options in the Object Picker.
Object Active Start Time
Sets the time when the object appears on the map. Available from the Object Interactions options in the Object Picker.
Participants Pane
Displays all guests in your Space. To open, click Participants (icon of two people) in the toolbar.
Personal Calendar
The calendar available from the toolbar that displays events from your personal Google calendar. This personal calendar can be added in remote work Spaces through Google integration (OAuth).
Personal Menu
The menu at the left of the toolbar in a Gather Space that shows your name and status. Click the menu to edit your name and status, access the character picker, turn on Do Not Disturb Mode, or respawn.
Pinned Moderator Message
A message that is pinned to the top of the Chat pane. This message can be added, edited, or removed by Space Admins or Moderators from Settings > Space > Space Preferences > Pinned Moderator Message.
Portal Tile Effect
A setting applied to a tile that allows you to move between Rooms and Spaces.
Primary Room
The first room new guests will appear in when visiting a Space. It is also the room you will reset to when you click Respawn in your personal menu from the toolbar.
Private Area
A tile or group of tiles with Private Area tile effects applied, which allows participants to only see and hear other people who are in the private area with them.
Private Area Tile Effect
A setting applied to a tile that allows participants to only see and hear other people who are on the tiles of the same ID. Read the Private Areas article for more info.
Rec Room
A remote-work only feature that creates a portal to different Gather social experiences. We are currently testing the Rec Room, so some instances of the Rec Room have you walk right in to join the social, and we change the social every 2 weeks. Other instances let you pick between several socials if you are the Admin or Builder.
Remote Work Space
A Space with features to support working environments. A remote work Space is identified when you first create your Space and answer Remote Office or Team Event to the question "What are you building this Space for?"
Respawn
Resets your character's position in the Space, sending you to the default Spawn locations. Open your personal menu by clicking your name in the toolbar, then select Respawn.
Room
An individual Map within a Space. Each Room/Map belongs to a Space, though some Spaces have only have one Room. Note: Some Spaces are designed as an individual Map with multiple "rooms" as indicated by walls and doors. When we refer to a Room, we are referring to a separate Map that has been connected to a Space.
Settings
Provides access to User and Space settings, such as Smart Zoom, Auto Idle Muting, Sign Out, and more. To open, use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl/⌘+P or by clicking Settings in the main menu.
SFX Volume
The volume for any sound effects within a Space, such as ambient noises.This can be controlled in the User tab in Settings.
Smart Zoom
Automatically adjusts the view of your Gather Space to provide the best view. Disable Smart Zoom from the User tab in Settings to manually zoom in (up to 400%) or out (25%) on the Space. (Note: Using the browser zoom function enlarges or shrinks the entire window, including the navigation menus and windows, whereas Smart Zoom just enlarges or shrinks the view of the Space.)
Smooth Movement
Improves the movement of your character in the Space. Toggle on or off in the User tab in Settings.
Space
A self-contained virtualized world created on Gather. Has an associated URL. Can contain one or more Rooms/Maps.
Space Calendar
The public calendar available from toolbar that displays events to all participants in the Space. This Space-wide calendar is added as an iCal link in Space Preferences of the Space dashboard or Space tab in Settings.
Space Capacity
The maximum number of users in your Space at a given time. For a paid event reservation or ongoing subscription, estimate how many people will be joining the event or visiting the Space at the same time. You can always increase your Space Capacity from your Space dashboard.
Space Dashboard
Make reservations and moderate your Space. To open, click the Gather menu in the Left Nav Menu.
Spawn Tile Effect
A setting applied to a tile that becomes a possible location for a participant to appear when opening a Space or a Custom Spawn Location link. In the Mapmaker, these tiles are semi-transparent green.
Spotlight Tile Effect
A setting applied to a tile that allows the person standing on it to broadcast their audio, video, or screen to everyone in the current room.
Tile
A 32 x 32 pixel unit of measurement in a Map.
Tile Effect
A setting applied to an individual tile or group of tiles to add interaction or a behavior in your Map. There are five types of tile effects: Impassable, Spawn, Portal, Private Area, and Spotlight.
Toolbar
When in your Space, this menu on the bottom of the window provides access to the following (you may not see all options, depending on your Space): the main menu (Gather icon), your video preview, your personal menu, screen share, Emotes, Build, Calendar, Chat, and Participants.
When in the Mapmaker, this menu provides access to a hamburger menu of further features (Go to Space, Manage Space, Guides and Tutorials, Background & Foreground, and Extension Settings), as well as Select, Stamp, Erase, Navigation, Zoom In, Zoom Out, Undo, and Redo.
Use Case
The primary reason you have created the Space. This is determined by the option you choose from the https://app.gather.town/get-started or from the reason you select for "What are you building this Space for?" on https://app.gather.town/create. Current use cases are remote work, events, and places (other).
User
Hosts, guests, visitors, and anyone who is currently online inside of your Gather Space, regardless of their user role.
Video Carousel
The scrollable videos that display at the top of your screen when connecting to more than one person. Click the left and right chevrons to view additional video/screen feeds, or click on a single video/screen to enlarge it. The number of videos that display depends on the width of your screen.