notes.txt

I went through and tried out a number of competitor products. The following notes are my take-aways for where each does something better or worse than Calla. The sites I tried are:

- spatial.chat
- hubs.mozilla.com
- theonline.town
- sococo.com
- zonko.chat
- mixaba.com

# Spatial.Chat
- (+) Signup is the only thing visible, making it very clear what to do to get started.
- (-) Signup is the only thing visible, providing no preview on what would happen after starting.
- (-/+) Email confirmation is required to get started, though that will help them market updates.
- (+) The UI is a lot cleaner, with more succinct options and better layout. Mobile view is even more concise.
- (+) Tutorial link
- (+) Support linik
- (+) There is an option to place images in the space.
- (-) There's no background graphic, you just drag your avatar around in relation to other avatars.
- (+) ToS and Privacy Policy readily available.
- (+) User list shows count and max capacity.
- (+) Sidebar for text chat

# Mozilla Hubs
- (+) Signup is less visually cluttered than Calla.
- (-) Signup is more visually cluttered than Spatial.Chat.
- (+) No email confirmation.
- (+/-) "Waiting room" for new users to join, but the waiting room is kind of confusing.
- (+) UI tour feature.
- (-) The UI is kind of confusing. There are buttons all over everywhere and the menu has a lot of options in it.
- (+/-) View is in 3D, which is visually stunning, but also kind of difficult to navigate. It is designed for VR, where a lot of this would be easier to do. But most people aren't VR users (yet :)). 
- (+) Options to place images and videos (YouTube URLs) in the space, as well as 3D models.
- (+) Tool to draw on surfaces.
- (+) Share button triggers OS sharing interface (when available)
- (+/-) Text chat bar, with option to attach media, but chat text appears right in the middle of the screen (again, a VR affordance)