Key concepts

A flat is a single space you create on flat.social, the service. It holds your rooms, members, branding, and settings, and lives at its own web address like flat.social/your-name. See Create a flat.

A room is a single place inside your flat that people walk into and talk in. One flat can hold many rooms of different types. See Room types.

The lobby is the landing area of your flat where guests arrive and choose which room to enter. You arrange and label rooms there so people know where to go. See Organize your lobby.

An Open Spatial room is the classic flat.social room: you move an avatar around a map and your voice gets louder as you get closer to people. It suits mingling, events, and casual hangouts. See Room types.

A Conference room is a more structured space where everyone shares one audio channel, like a regular video call. Use it for talks and presentations where one person speaks at a time. See Conference rooms.

A Chat room is a text-first space for messages without spatial audio. It works for side discussions, links, and async chat. See Chat channels and DMs.

Spatial audio means your voice gets louder as you walk closer to someone and fades as you step away, just like real life. It lets several conversations happen in one room without everyone talking over each other. See How spatial audio works.

Your avatar is the small character that represents you in a room. You move it with the keyboard, and where it stands decides who you hear and who hears you. See Move your avatar.

A vibe is a lighting preset that sets the mood of a room, from bright and daytime to warm and dim. Hosts pick a vibe to match the kind of event. See Customize rooms.

A map is the floor layout of an Open Spatial room: the shape, backgrounds, and where people can walk. Hosts choose or design a map to fit the space they want. See Maps and layouts.

The host (or owner) is the person who controls a flat: its rooms, branding, access, and moderation. Hosts can hand out roles so others can help run the space. See Roles and permissions.

A guest is someone who joins a space without a full account, usually with just a name. Hosts decide whether guests are allowed and what they can do. See Privacy and access.

A reaction is a quick visual you send into the room, like a heart or fireworks, to respond without interrupting. They float above your avatar for everyone nearby to see. See Reactions and actions.

A torch is a light you can carry on your avatar to brighten the area around you, handy in dim or moody rooms. It is a fun way to find your group or light up a dark corner. See Reactions and actions.