instructions for attendees

What you need

• A desktop/laptop with a microphone and camera [Tablets and mobiles are not supported.].
• A web browser [Chrome or Firefox recommended, Safari has limited support only].
• We strongly recommend using headphones to help prevent feedback.
• Click on the following link and sign in with your e-mail address [The one you used for your registration at iNAV, others won’t work.]:

  https://app.gather.town/app/hZmY15bdBmT4veOz/inav2022

• Receive a 6-digit code to your e-mail address and enter this code. If you don’t see it, please check your spam folder.
• On the login screen enter your full name, so that others can identify you inside the gathering. [If you are presenting a poster please add “-Presenter” at the end of your name. For example: John Smith-Presenter]
• Before you can enter, you will be prompted by your browser to permit camera and microphone access – choose “allow”, then select “Join the Gathering”. [Click on the link to learn how to enable camera and microphone in Chrome or Firefox.]
• Click “Skip tutorial“ and you will automatically enter the iNAV2022 virtual space in gather.town.
• That’s it! There’s nothing to install, no software to download.

How it works

• Move your avatar around the space by using the arrow keys.
• By moving around, you can have spontaneous video conversations with those around you. As you get close to other avatars, their video-camera feeds will pop up on your screen, and you will be able to interact with them. [These can be either one-on-one or small group conversations. A good way to know if you can converse with someone is by noticing if their avatar is in full color or grayed out.]
• When your avatar moves close to an interactive object (e.g., a poster), a notification will pop up saying ‘Press x to interact with -object-’.
• The virtual environment also includes “private areas”. These are marked areas in which only people standing together inside the area can hear each other. [Such areas are used for poster presentations and for private discussion on the couches.]

Attend the main talks in Zoom

• Follow the green line and go in the conference room.
• As you enter this room, you just simply press “x“ and click on the link display on your screen to acces Zoom.
• Your avatar will then become transparent on Gather and Gather automatically turns off audio and video when visiting an external call link. To come back on Gather, leave Zoom, click on Re-enter on your screen and you will be back to Gather, where you left.

IMPORTANT: It is highly recommended that you close Zoom altogether when you re-enter gather.town to avoid weird echoes.

Meet the speakers

• Follow the orange line and go in the speaker rooms.
• Each speaker of the session has his/her own room and will be available for discussion for about 30 min after the end of the session.
• Enter a room and interact with the people close to your avatar.

Interacting with Posters and Poster Presenters

• For the poster session, follow the red line and go in the poster room. There, you can interact with the posters and discuss with the presenters.  PRESS “X” TO VIEW A POSTER!

Two ways to view a poster:

1) By standing on a ellipse in the grey carpet area, D, E and F can view the poster while also interacting by video chat with the presenter P. 2) By standing on the blue carpet area A and B can view the poster only.

• While viewing, use the small “magnifying glass” to enlarge the poster; once enlarged, you can click and hold the mouse pointer to move around the poster.
• If the gray carpet area is full (i.e., all 9 ellipses are occupied), then you will need to either wait until someone leaves that space or come back later to see if a spot becomes open.
• [If you are standing on the grey carpet area and the presenter is using “screen share” to present the poster, the presenter’s screen will override your own control over the poster view– until the presenter turns off the screen share or until you leave the carpet area.]

Toolbar Icons

Screen sharing – INTENDED FOR USE BY PRESENTERS ONLY!

Change – your avatar character’s appearance and clothing.

Mini map – gives an overview of the space you’re in (click the “x” on its frame to close it)

Settings menu – change name, change audio/video devices, “respawn” button (returns your avatar to the session starting position), sign out.

Chat panel – for sending and receiving chat messages.

Participants panel – for locating and messaging other participants by username.

IMPORTANT: In order to minimize accidental audio interference, please keep your microphone muted as much as possible.

Advanced Features

Here are some features you might find useful but aren’t immediately obvious. 1. Messaging features:

• Open the chat panel to send and receive messages
• “Nearby” – send message to the people you are now interacting with (videochat).
• “Everyone”–FOR MODERATORS ONLY.
• “Specific Name”(click on someone’s name) – send message to specific person.

2. To locate a friend:

• Open the participants panel and search for the person’s name [using the search bar].
• Click on the person’s name and choose “Locate” [arrows will lead you to the person].
• Do the same, but choose “Follow” [your Avatar will be taken to the person’s location].

3. To enlarge someone else’s video feed to full screen? Just click on their video. 4. Speaking to a group of people? Click the down arrows centered below the video feeds to shift into grid view. 5. “GHOST” MODE:

• Press the “G“ key on your keyboard and keep it pressed down.
• Your avatar becomes transparent, and it can now pass through other avatars while moving with the arrow keys without having to see and hear them or to be seen or heard by them.
• Warning: While in Ghost mode, you will be disconnected from everyone and will be unable to make new audio or video connections until you exit Ghost mode.

Technical difficulties

• Refreshing the browser page will fix most things!
• Try muting and unmuting your mic and camera in Gather (see preceding diagram).
• Check if your browser has permitted camera and mic access, or if you have a different program running that might be using your camera and microphone, such as Zoom.
• Leave the gathering, close your browser, and then come back in.
• If you have any other problem, don’t hesitate to contact us either on Gather (tag [ADMIN]) or via email to mail@inavsymposium.com.
• Additional troubleshooting information at https://support.gather.town/help/video-carousel
• Our conference is a safe environment. If anyone behaves in a misappropriate way please notify us (any username beginning with “ADMIN…”) immediately using the messaging feature.
• LOST? Click on your name next to the avatar on the bottom of the screen and click “Respawn“.