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13.2

Seeing who's here

The people in a DOTV room are not just a list of names: you can see where their mouse is on the canvas and which node they have clicked. That is one fewer "which image do you mean?". This section covers the three things that show up on the canvas, how colours tell people apart, and when you cannot see anyone.

Three things that show up on the canvas

Zhou Ying's cursorOther people's pointers are drawn right on the canvas, each trailing their name. They do not shrink when you zoom out — at any zoom they stay this size, so you can still find people.
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Cursor, selection outline, avatar — the same person is the same color in all three.
  • Cursor: someone else's mouse is drawn as an arrow with their name trailing behind it. It does not scale when you zoom the canvas — zoomed far out, the cursor stays the same size, so you can still find people.
  • Selection outline: the node they clicked is outlined in their color. When their cursor is parked between two images, that outline is how you tell which one they mean.
  • Avatars: the row in the top right. Up to 5 are shown, more collapse into "+N"; hover to see who they are.

Colours are for telling people apart

Everyone's color is fixed to their account, not handed out by who joined the room first: you are the same color to everyone, and it is still yours next time you come back. So "the pink cursor" sends the whole group looking for the same person.

One person's cursor, their selection outline and the ring on their avatar all use the same color — the three lining up is what makes that sentence usable.

When you cannot see anyone

  • When nobody else is on the same canvas as you, the row in the top right does not appear at all (it does not say "0 people").
  • Someone is here but has not moved their mouse: they have an avatar, no cursor. The cursor answers "who is moving", not "who is here".
  • A cursor disappears on its own after about 20 seconds of sitting still; that person is still in the room. This keeps the screen from filling up with arrows that have not moved in ages.
  • They switched to another tab, or left the page untouched for ten minutes — then even the avatar goes: their connection is down for the moment (see 13.1). It comes back on its own as soon as they return or move the mouse.
Try it in DOTVReading only goes so far: open DOTV and make an AI video with the feature this section covers.