GLOSSARY OF TERMS

• 2 1/2 D - Short for "two and a half dimensional", which means that a scene appears flat but in fact has some ability to move avatars or objects "back" into a third dimension. WorldsAway's Dreamscape is an example of a world of this kind of technology.
• 3D - Short for "three dimensional", indicating that a scene has three directions of possible motion, left to right, up and down, and front to back. AlphaWorld is an example of a world that uses this kind of technology.
• Acolyte - A volunteer in WorldsAway Dreamscape who acts as an assistant to the Oracles.
• Anonymity - A social property of a virtual world that guarantees that users can be anonymous. Using a "handle", "nickname", or "alias" instead of a real name guarantees a certain amount of anonymity. Users may not be anonymous to the people running the world, however.
• Asynchronous - happening at different times. An example is USENET interaction, where one person may respond to a message that someone else wrote on a previous date. (see Synchronous)
• Avatar - The term "avatar" comes from Hindu mythology, and originally was the name of the temporary body that a God uses when visiting Earth. In virtual communities, an avatar is a graphical representation of a participant. Avatars may also be called "characters", "players", "residents", or "citizens".
• Banishment - A severe form of punishment for misbehaving users, where the operator of the world throws the offending player out. The user may or may not be able to log back on using the same identity.
• Circle of File - The company who are the current owners and proprietors of ActiveWorlds technology, including AlphaWorld. Also referred to as 'COF'.
• CMC - Computer Mediated Communications is a field that studies and develops computers, software, and networks to enable different kinds of person to person communication.
• COF - See Circle of Fire.
• Cyberspace - a term originally coined by the author William Gibson in the early 1980s. It refers to a virtual space, which may be text based or graphical, in which activity and communication may occur digitally.
• First person view - This would be your viewpoint as though you were inside your avatar looking out through its eyes. From this view you cannot see your own avatar's body.
• Ghost - on WorldsAway Dreamscape, "ghosting" means to be present in a room without being seen by other participants. See also "unghost".
• Ground Zero - the default entry point into a virtual world.
• Hacker - someone who strives to gain advanced technological understanding of a world or system. May be assumed to have "ulterior motives" or to desire to take advantage of unauthorized access.
• ICQ - An online instant messaging program, used as a conferencing tool by individuals on the Net to chat, e-mail, perform file transfers, play computer games, and more. Pronounced as separate letters, so that it sounds like "I-Seek-You".
• Ignoring - The act of blocking out communications with someone in a virtual world. Usually done on an offending player. Also called "muting".
• Interactive - reciprocal actions taken place with and/or through a computer.
• Kill - a method of removing an offensive player from a virtual world. Done through advanced use of the technology, usually by an Oracle or Wizard.
• Multiuser - technology that supports avatars or some other representation of users in a shared world. Usually this implies that the users can also communicate in the world.
• Muting - using the technology available in a virtual world to cause an offensive player's words to not be visible to other participants. Usually done by Wizards or Oracles.
• Netiquette - what is considered appropriate behavior during online interactions, whether synchronous or asynchronous.
• Newbie - a popular term for a new user of anything, including an avatar world.
• Nickname - a name a user chooses to associate with himself or herself in a text based or graphical virtual world. Users often choose fanciful names that hide their real identity. This name is also called an alias or handle and can be found on avatar badges.
• Online - the state of being logged on to a computer and the Internet.
• Oracle - A character in the WorldsAway Dreamscape who is responsible for facilitation of rules and culture. Acts as a priest or priestess of the Dreamscape.
• PowWow - an online Internet community and communications software. Used for creating, managing and hosting online PowWow Communities, including one for residents of AlphaWorld.
• Prop - on The Palace, a scanned-in image that acts as an avatar for a user.
• SNERT - "Snot-nosed, eros-ridden teenager".
• Spamming - Generally considered offensive; displaying the same words repeatedly so as to interfere with the normal conversation in a virtual world. Can also refer to flooding another player's email with unwanted messages.
• Synchronous - happening at the same time. In the case of virtual worlds, this is true of interactive communication.
• Unghost - to appear in a scene and join in the conversation.
• Wizard - a participant in a virtual world who has been given authority to enforce rules and norms through extended use of the technology.
• Vending Machine - A mechanism in a virtual world allowing the purchase of objects or capabilities. May also be called "vendos".
• Vendo - see Vending Machine.
• Virtual Community - a virtual world and its inhabitants in interaction.
• Virtual World - a computer generated graphical setting and environment that is accessible to users through their computer screen.
• The Void - on WorldsAway Dreamscape, like a prison. An offensive player may be put in the Void as punishment for repeated or extreme offensive behavior.