Complete Dictionary of Role-playing Terms and Abbreviations
Well, it's not really a complete dictionary, but I've listed some of the things that confused me when I first began RPing in the hope that I can help someone out there. My goal is to add to the list as I come up with new terms and as you (the web surfers of the world) help me. So if you have a term and definition that you'd like to add to my list, please email me with it. Just type 'dictionary' as the subject and I'll try to get it added as soon as I can!
RPDictionary
AFK: Away from the keyboard
Alt: Some games allow you to have more than one character (I have two). If you do, you refer to your other characters as your alts, as in alter egos or alternates.
Angst:
In my own words, pity driven RP. An extreme example - your mother died when you were 12 and your father married your great aunt who abused you every day by beating you with a wet noodle and she made you scrub the hold top to bottom and fed you nothing but tubers. This is, of course, why you don't like tubers. Ok, so this is an extreme example. But most people, while they'll agree that angsty things such as death and serious illness have their places, prefer that angst 1) be kept to a minimum and 2) not be the sole reason for RPing. If you're going to use angst, use it sparingly and with the permission of the people you're RPing with.
*See RP
BRB: Be right back
Canon:
Vaguely, it has the same meaning as IC, but even more so it carries with it the connotation that it's been OKed or falls under the guidelines that have been set up by the person who created the world you're playing in. For example, on Pern MOOs, something that is canon has been approved by Anne McCaffrey or falls under her guidelines.
*See IC
Channel: Think of a channel as a chat room for certain people, though that's not exactly what it is. A channel is something that you're added to, and only the people on the channel can see what's said there. You can create channels for your friends or you may be on one for your craft or area. That way you can say something OOCly and many people can hear you at once, rather than having to page. Channels are always OOC.
*See OOC, Page
Client: A client is the program you use to play your M** of choice. It runs the game. The default client for most computers is telnet, but it you're serious about M**ing, I'd suggest downloading a free client from the net. SimpleMU and MUSHClient are both good choices for PC users.
*See Telnet
Desc: Description
Despam:
Turning something off (like a channel or a puppet) to escape excess spam, usually to concentrate on RP.
*See Spam, Puppet, Channel
Emit: Emitting, technically, is when you use the command @emit to start a text with something other than your name in RP. For example, typing @emit With a sigh, Aerrin sits. will show up in the room as With a sigh, Aerrin sits. This is used in many ways.
One is what I just showed you - to start your pose with something other than your name, just for variety and readability. Related to that would be something like "I've never seen him before," Aerrin states suspiciously. Here, you're starting your pose with dialouge - again, just for variety.
The other main use of emitting is to create people who aren't really there. Maybe you need a doctor but there's not one online - you can emit an NPC, basically roleplaying the doctor and your character at the same time. Because of this ability, you can also do what's called spoofing. That's when you emit an action and attribute it to someone else - a /big/ nono. So don't go around emitting Aerrin does a boogie. I might not like it.
*See Spoofing, NPC
IC: In character. When you're speaking or acting as your character would, not neccessarily as you, the player would.
*See OOC
Idling: Being logged onto the game without RPing or doing anything related to the game.
IRL: In real-life
Lag:
Lag is a wonderful phenomenon that occurs when our servers act up. It means that there is a delay in the time that something is sent (when you hit enter) and when you see it (it scrolls up on your screen). Lag is evil. It can make you miss poses, be far behind in RP, and just generally be annoying. It can also flood your screen with lots of spam at once.
Log: A copy of what you RP. For example, when you take a lesson, you can log it so that everything that shows on the screen is saved to a file for later use.
M**: Refers to a variety of role-playing games, all of which start in 'M'. The astericks mean that any letter can fit in those spaces - thus, when you say M**, you're covering MOOs, MUDs, MUCKs, MUSHes... and more. It's simply a bit more accurate than saying something like 'I play on many MOOs' when you really mean that you play on many games, some of which are MOOs and some of which are, say, MUSHes. Thus, 'I play on many M**s'.
Mailer: A mailer is essentially a huge mailing list that sends the same mail to everyone who is 'subscribed' to the mailer. It's usually used for announcements or to discuss issues.
Mav:
The only connotation I've seen this used in is when someone is chatting on more than one channel at once and replies to the wrong channel. Thus, the comment they make seems out of the blue and makes no sense on that channel.
*See Channel
Newbie:
Usually used to refer to someone new to M**ing who doesn't know their way around the game yet, but it can also be used to mean someone who's new to that particular game, or even someone new to the area (such as a craft).
NP: No problem
NPC: Not played character. For example, no one plays my parents on Harper's Tale, but they 'exist' because I talk about them. They're NPCs. *Thanks to Amanya for helping me out with this one!*
*See PC
OOC: Out-of character. When you're talking as yourself and not as your character.
*See IC
Page:
Sending a private message to someone, which no one else can see.
PC: Played character. Aerrin is a PC *Again, much thanks to Amanya on this one.*
*See NPC
Pose: A pose is something you type to show your character's actions, and is usually done using an emote command. The one I use is ':' Any time I type : before a pose, it adds my name. So if I typed ':sits down,' everyone would see 'Aerrin sits down.'
Post: A post is the mail a person sends to a mailer or a message they posted on a bulletin board.
*See Mailer
Powerplay(ing):
Powerplaying is a big nono. Powerplaying is when one person poses something that forces another person into doing something they didn't want. For example : Tarzan grabs hold of Jane's arm and bends it backward, forcing her to her knees and breaking her arm is a powerplay - Jane had no control over whether Tarzan broke her arm or not, or whether she was forced to her knees. The only time this would be OK is if Tarzan had asked Jane's permission, either OOCly or through pages, to force her to her knees and break her arm.
Puppet: A puppet is a fancy object that you can play with and that you can control, making it seem as if it had actions of its own. Puppets are usually things like pets - dogs, cats, ferrets, or even firelizards. You can see everything where your puppet is and can pose using your puppet, making your dog lick someone or wag his tail.
Repose: Sometimes evil computers freeze or disconnect us, so someone may miss one of your poses. When they mange to get back, they may ask you to repose, which is exactly what it sounds like. You pose again, usually adding *repose* or something similar to the end. Some programs have a command to make this easier. On SimpleMU and MUSHClient you use .
RL: Real-life (for those of you who don't remember what this is, check out this list.)
RP: Role-playing, role-play. Often used in sentences like "Anyone want to RP?" or "Thanks for the great RP!"
Spam:
Spam is used in many different ways.
1)Excess chatter on channels that may distract someone from RP.
2)Long poses or descriptions that take up a lot of screen space
3)A lot of poses that come very quickly - if you're at a large party or event, it's most likely spammy.
4)Other various ways, usually indicating lots of words.
Spam isn't necessarily bad - it's all in the eye of the beholder.
Spoof: Emitting an action and attributing it to someone else - Spoofing is a /big/ nono. So don't go around emitting Aerrin does a boogie. I might not like it.
*See emit
Telnet: Telnet is a program that can be used for everything from writing a web page to emailing to searching for library books online. It's a program to run programs - you're most likely interested in it because it will run the M**of your choice and is probably what pops up when you click on the link on the homepage. The downside of telnet is that you can't see what you're typing and you can't correct yourself - which means lots of typos and that you can't change your mind! I'd suggest downloading a free client online - SimpleMU and MUSHClient are both good options for PC users.
*See Client
TP: Tiny-plot. Refers to a planned event, usually involving a lot of people, that makes for lots of fun RP!
TS:
Tinysex. No one should ever feel pressured to do this, and it should never be done in a 'public' room.
Twink:
Again, used in various ways - it usually is used to refer to someone who can't RP well, doesn't follow the rules, or is just generally annoying.
