Glossary
Activation Distance
The distance in tiles at which you can interact with an interactable object. Inside this radius, objects can be interacted with with the 'x' key. Includes diagonals.
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.
Bottom Bar
The menu at the bottom center of a Gather Space that provides access to the character picker, your name and status, the mini map, screensharing, and emotes.
Click your name in the Bottom Bar to edit your name and status, access Settings, turn on Quiet Mode, respawn, or sign out.
Build Mode
Allows you to manage objects while you are in your Space.
To open, click Build (the hammer icon) in the Left Nav Menu 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, click Chat (the chat bubble icon) in the Left Nav Menu.
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.
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.
Emotes
The six icons for basic gestures. Click the smiley icon in the Bottom Bar to view all options.
You can use the Bottom Bar 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.
Gather Menu
The icon in the upper left corner of the your window.
From the Gather 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.
Global Build
Enables all members, even if they are not Builders, to access Build Mode in the Space, which opens the Object Picker and Eraser. In order to open the Mapmaker, a member must be a Builder.
Grid View
Expands the participant video carousel at the top of your Space so you can see up to 9 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.
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.
Left Nav Menu
When in your Space, this menu on the left of the window provides access to the following (you may not see all options, depending on your Space): the Gather menu (grapes icon), Beta feedback, Settings, Notifications, 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 Mode, Stamp Mode, Erase Mode, Navigation Mode, Zoom In, Zoom Out, Undo, and Redo.
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 Left Nav Menu, 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 can add (but not delete) other Moderators. Moderators cannot add or delete any other user role.
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.
Owner
The admin user role with full control of the Space. As an Owner, you have the privileges of both Moderators and Builders. Owners can add or delete other Owners.
Participants Panel
Displays all guests in your Space.
To open, click Participants (icon of two people) in the Left Nav Menu.
Personal Calendar
The calendar available from the Left Nav Menu that displays events from your personal Google calendar.
This personal calendar can be added in remote work Spaces through Google integration (OAuth).
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 the Bottom Bar.
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.
Quiet 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 Quiet Mode, the status indicator next to your name is red instead of green.
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.
Click your name in the Bottom Bar and 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 (cog icon) in the Left Nav Menu, or by clicking your name in the Bottom Bar.
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 the Left Nav Menu 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.
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.
User
Users is a term we use to include 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.