FAQs

• About sharing videos
• Video quality
• Uploading videos
• Using video "embed code"
• Fair Use rules for sharing videos

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Visit help.gather.com to submit a question to our daily help post and we'll respond on the site. You can also contact Gather Member Support. If you're a group owner or moderator, also check out groups.gather.com.

Sharing Videos

About sharing videos
To share a photo, go to the Share menu and choose Videos. Then click "Browse" to select a video file from your computer, in any of the following formats: AVI, FLV, MPG, MPEG, MOV, and WMV, or ASF, WAV, or MP3 audio files, up to 100 megabytes. Upload the videos, one at a time, into your Gather videos gallery. Your file will begin uploading and processing automatically, and the status will display while this is happening. At the same time, you can create your title and caption, select tags, and choose settings for your video. Please check the appropriate descriptions for content involving subject matter that can be described as adult content. Then, click Share, and you're done. Repeat this process for each video you want to upload. And if something goes wrong, you can cancel and start over during the upload. To share a video with a specific group, you can click the "share with group" link in the group, which will let you share content with the current group only.

Video quality
Gather processes your video file and converts it to Flash format. Keep in mind when editing your video that we use the frame three seconds into it for the thumbnail photo that everyone sees. Follow these guidelines to share the best quality video on Gather:

• Frame rate above 12 frames per second (FPS), 30 FPS preferred
• Bitrate 250 kps
• Frame ratio 4:3
• Resolution 640 x 480 pixels
• Non-interlaced

Uploading videos
To upload videos, you must allow your browser to work with the Gather uploader.

If you are using Microsoft Internet Explorer as your browser, you must install the Gather Uploader ActiveX control when prompted. The installation only takes a few minutes and you only need to do it one time. When you try to share a photo or video, a yellow information bar will appear at the top of your browser window. Click the bar, then select Install ActiveX Control from the dropdown menu. After the page reloads and a dialog box appears, click Install and follow the instructions in the dialog box to add the control to your browser.

If you are using a browser other than Internet Explorer, you must install a Java Web plug-in and "trust" the Gather uploader application. If you do not have a Java Web plug-in, a small graphic and message will appear on the share page. Click the link and follow the instructions to install the Java plug-in. You will also be prompted to "trust" an applet certificate for the Gather Uploader. Select the checkbox to "always trust" certificates from Gather and save the setting. If you do not select the checkbox to "always trust," you will see this prompt each time you upload photos, videos, or a new icon.

Using video "embed code"
"Embed code" allows you to distribute a video shared on Gather on other websites that allow you to post HTML. To embed a video on another site, simply copy the HTML code from the "embed code" box and paste it on the new website. You can share videos created by other members, unless they are private. In that case, the embed code is only available to the member who shared the video. You can place Gather video embed code in posts if you use the HTML editing option when you create the post.

Fair Use rules for sharing videos
When sharing a portion of someone else's content, it must be for the purpose of criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, or research, according to the United States Copyright Office. There's no clear definition of what constitutes Fair Use, but acknowledging the source of the copyrighted material is no substitution for obtaining permission. As a general guide, only use a small portion of video from another source, not the entire piece. Also, you must use the video as an addition to your own original content. You should familiarize yourself with the copyright laws to make sure you don't infringe on someone's rights.

For more information on Fair Use in copyright law, please check out the United States Copyright Office's Fair Use guide.