Accessing and Using Gather
What is Gather?
Gather is a virtual social space where you control an avatar.
As you walk around this space, you will automatically connect to nearby people.
You can turn your webcam and microphone on to let others see and hear you.
What does it look like?
Like below. You appear in the bottom right corner on webcam and your avatar is central with your name. As you walk around and connect with others, they will appear on webcam/audio at the top of your screen.
How do I walk around?
Use WASD or arrow keys to move. Hold down g to ghost through other people if you need to get past them.
How do I change my avatar?
Press the avatar button on the toolbar at the bottom of the screen. You get assigned a random avatar when you join, so you may wish to change it.
How do I turn my webcam and microphone on/off?
In the lower right corner where you see yourself, there is a microphone and camera pair of symbols on your stream. Clicking these will toggle their respective device.
Can I view more of the map at once?
Yes, in Gather there is a map button at the bottom that shows you your current room. (the button next to the avatar one)
You can also zoom out (hold down ctrl and press the minus key to zoom out; hold down ctrl and press the plus key to zoom in). This can help you see everything happening in a room at once.
Further, outside of Gather you may view the full map at: https://www.dropbox.com/s/zq3kn63lu12fqx1/gather_map.png?dl=0
Where can I find help?
There is a coloured region to the left of the start area where helpers throughout the day will be checking for anyone standing there wanting help. We will come and help you along.
How can I find someone?
On the right hand side where names are listed, you may click someone and press 'locate' to show their position relative to yours - enabling you to find them.
I see a whiteboard in a room! What do I do?
How do I access Gather?
First you need to be using a laptop/desktop PC with the Chrome or Firefox browser. Unfortunately the software does not support mobile devices or other browsers.
The link to access Gather will be added here closer to the day. We are currently waiting on the Gather team to generate our link.
The password to get into Gather will be sent to your email after you confirm attendance at the conference.
We are not able to let any spontaneous viewers of the YouTube live-streams into the Gather server – apologies! This is due to the Gather server having a limited capacity.
I am lagging and disconnecting in Gather - what can I do?
First try refreshing the page. If that doesn't fix it, try:
(last updated 5th September 2020)