Encyclopædia of MUDs
Dictionary
Published since 1993.

Version C03 March. 7, 2000

© 1993-2000 by Henry McDaniel III. Licensed to Blane Bramble, Virtua-Web Limited. Official instructors at universities and other learning institutions are permitted to make printed copies of this document for academic use at their own institutions and to charge students a reasonable amount of money for the cost of duplication provided that this notice remains intact. All other rights reserved.

Credits

Who & When	Defined	Helped
Henry McDaniel (haji@alumni.washington.edu) Foundation, Compilation, etc.
03/01/1993 to Present	-	-
Blane Bramble, Virtua-Web (blane@virtua-web.co.uk) Current Hosting
20 Dec 2000 to Present	-	-
Alan Schwart (alansz@cogsci.Berkeley.EDU)
10/25/1993	Mana	-
Alex Gutkin (c0428974@techst02.technion.ac.il)
10/28/1993	Teleport	Apocolypse
Daniel Garcia (kender@esu.edu)
3/22/1995	-	Reboot
Michael M. Flood (gt0547@prism.gatech.edu, flood@courier1.aero.org)
3/25/1995	-	Guild
Hans Henrik Staerfeldt (bombman@diku.dk, hhs@cbs.dtu.dk)
12/18/1996	Wizard	-
Steven Lucas (smlucas@geocities.com)
10/16/1998	Frob /Defrob	-
"Tempest & Dzorak" (cookson@afes.com)
10/21/1998	Sacrifice (aka "sac")	-
Adam Wozniak (adam@mudlist.eorbit.com) Jon A. Lambert (jlsysinc@nospam1.ix.com) jpb (jpb@technologist.com)
5/14/1999	-	Toad
Aristotle (threshold@threshold-rpg.com)
5/21/1999	-	Defrob /Frob /Gag /Teleport
Amanda Carlston aka "Daria" (ashandra@my-dejanews.com)
5/21/1999	AFK /Away /Become /Quest /Quest Points /Score	-
Nemesis Phoenix (nemesis@mud.cjb.net)
9/29/99	Alias /Brief (2) /Do /Equip (and eq) /Hibernate /Nickname /Suicide /Verbose	-
10/20/99	Pretitle /Prison /Title	Jail
1/23/2000	Aggressive /Beta /Domain /Arch /Harass (and Harassment) /Path /Peek /QC /Scry	-
Magnifico Terrifico (magnifico@umn.org)
10/11/1999	Class /Holylight /Imp (ref to Implemetor) /Level Less /Pkill (ref to PK) /Psteal /Pwipe /Skill /Skilltree	-
10/11/1999	Spam (2) /Twinkie	-
Dov (mirajama@yahoo.com)
10/13/1999	Bag /Bog /Nog	-
Matt Lundberg (mattlund@selway.umt.edu)
10/14/1999	Trigger	-
Snafu Life. (snafulife@home.com)
2/21/2000	-	AC /Armor Class
3/1/2000	OLC	-
AxL (axl@mindwarp.plymouth.edu)
2/28/2000	Frag	-
Hope Skinner (gailyana@hotmail.com)
2/28/2000	Twink	-
Batopr (Batopr@Grimhaven - grimhaven.org 7900)
3/2/2000	Corpse Retrieval /D&D (and AD&D) /Dual-Class /GP /MP (and MV) /Lockout (and Command Lockout) /Player Looting /Pulse /Multi-Class /XdY (and XdY+Z) /THAC0	BRB *
Kavir aka Richard Woolcock (Richard.Woolcock@RSUK.rsd.de)
3/6/2000	2 /4 /AFAIK /BTW /BBS /Chomp /Coder /Copyover /Cryo /Damroll /Deny /Disconnect /Donation (2) /Founder (2) /FYI /G /Goto (2) /Head /Coder /Head Implementor /Healer /Hitroll /Hitter /HnS /LAF (and laff) /Level Based /LOL /M8 /Nibble /PBEM /Pure PK /ROFL /ROFLMAO /RP /Newlock /Owner /Rent /Repop /Respawn /Skill Based /Stabber /Trolling (3) /U /Vryce /WoD /WoT /WTF /X (2) /XY /Y /Z	Hermaphrodite /Hybrid /Level Less *
Maetar aka Martin Dibble (maetar@earthling.net)
3/6/2000	Channel (2) /Drop (2) /IMHO /Macro /MUSH /TLA	Roleplay *
3/10/2000	ETLA /Purge /Re-String /Slay /Wizi	-

*=Provided correction or reported a problem.

Preface

The dictionary is intended for use by novice MUD players or as reference material for experienced users who would like to use a common terminology with the users of other MUDs. Provides information specific to MUDs: on the root of command actions common to many games, slang, and technical terms.

Abbreviations Used

  Abrev.    Abbreviation
  Adj.      Adjective
  Adv.      Adv.
  Comp.     Comparative or Compound or Composition
  Ex.       Example
  Esp.      Especially
  Interj.   Interjection
  N.        Noun
  V.        Verb

Note that commands in use on MUDs are often described as n. and v. while the definition only details the v. or noun usage; Giving definitions easily found in the common dictionary is beyond the scope of this work.

Code Base or Type References

ABER, DIKU, LP, TINY. Any name within parenthesis () at the start of a definition refers to a code base type or family. These are just the most commonly used base names currently in the dictionary.

Format

Sections are divided by lines and large letters indicating the section.
Example:

Dictionary, n.: A body of language words, arranged alphabetically, with origin, usage, meaning, etc. defined.; See: Unselfconscious.

Definition terms are to the left, while definitions are towards the right and justified. Pointers to other sections are highlighted or underlined.

Symbols

*g*, n.

Same as G .

2, pronounced too

Too or to. A shortform used by young mudders .

4, pronounced phor

For. A shortform used by young mudders .

A

AC, n. [Comp. of Armor Class.]

Same as Armor Class .

AD, n. [Comp. of Advertisement.]

Promotional announcement. Exactly the same meaning as used outside ofMUDs.

AD&D, n.

Same as D&D ® .

Address, n.

Also addy.

Standard identification for an internet trafficdestination. There are many forms of internet addresses. Examples:E-mail: haji@alumni.washington.edu,to send a letter or other package to a user namedJoe. Internet Protocol (IP): 1.2.3.4 3000, to reach port 3000 on amachine numerically identified as 1.2.3.4. Worldwide Web (WWW):http://www.mudwords.com/, to access a web site .

See: Intermud , mail .

Addy, n.

Slang for address. Most commonly refers to an internet address.

See: address .

Admin, n. [Comp. of administrator.]

See: administrator .

Administrator, n.

One who directs, manages or maintains a game.

See: god , immortal , root , wizard .

AFAIK, idiom. [Comp. of As Far As I Know.]

I believe. I know.

AFK, adv., interj. [Comp. of Away from Keyboard.]

Used to say, "I am not here" and "I'll be back later."

See: BRB .

AFW, adv., interj. [Comp. of Away from Window.]

Used to say, "I am still at my computer but I am notpaying active attention to this game context." Similarto AFK . Window is from the system of windows used inthe operating systems of most graphical user interfaces.

Agent, n.

Same as bot .

Aggro, n. [Comp. of Aggresive.]

Same as aggressive .

Aggressive, adj.

Also aggro .

State of a monster or NPC that iniates combat with othercharacters .

B

Backup, n., v.

Periodical copy made, as of a game, to be used in the event that theprimary version is lost or damaged.

Bag, n., adj.

(DIKU) Someone who is easy to PK (in the victim sense). Essentiallythey are a free bag of equipment (the spoils to begotten off their corpse.)

Balance, adj., n.

MUD that has reached a state of predictable and desired game behaviorfrom the perspective of the game administrator .

See: system (1) for details.

Ban, v.

To bar from entering. Most often used to describe the locking of agame from entry by users from a particular site .

See: banish , wizlock .

Banish, v.

To bar from entering. This is what administrators do when they decidethey no longer wish for a player or user from a particularsite to use the game. Most often it means that a charcter has beendeleted and no user may create a new player of the same name.

See: ban .

Base, n.

(1) Basic foundation or fundamental MUD server code.

(2) MUD considered to be a root ormajor limb in the geneology of MUD development. Usually a server that has largely original or different source code .

See: codebase , stock , type (1) .

Become, v., n.

(ABER) Command allows a user to change characters. Often a wizardcommand.

See: switch .

Beta, n.

Second. A mud's second stage of developmentwhen the mud is playable but requires actual play testingto help ensure that the game world is well balanced and has no bugs . This stage occurs right before thegame opens to the general public.

See: balance .

Bit, n.

(1) One of the binary digits that makes up a byte .

(2) Small part of anything.

See: byte .

Blind, v., n., adj.

State of being incapable of percieving normally visibledescriptions .

See: light .

Bog, interj., v. [Comp. of Boggle.]

Same as boggle .

Boggle, interj., v.

Also bog .

Expression of confusion. Example: "Mary boggles."

See: nog .

Boot, v.

To start a computer program such as a MUD,operating system. Generally used to describe the startingof major programs or daemons and not every possible program.

See: program

Bot, n.

Also called agent.

(1) A computer program which can direct a PC on some MUDwithout human intervention.

(2) Any NPC of above average intelligence, esp. those withdescriptions similar to robots.

Bounce, v.

Soul or emote command on many games. It isgenerally considered impolite to use this on another player withouttheir consent as it has been used to simulate activity of asexual nature.

See: rape , soul .

Bow, v.

(esp. DIKU) Respectful greeting. Similar to waving at someone in real life.

BB, adv., interj. [Comp. of Be Back.]

See you again.

BBL, adv., interj. [Comp. of be back later.]

See you again at a later time.

BK, adv., interj. [Comp. of Back.]

I have returned.

BRB, adv., interj. [Comp. of Be Right Back.]

See you again very soon.

Brief, n., v.

(1) Mode that limits what a user sees when viewing aroom or other objects. Typically hides the long part ofthe description ,leaving the short title and other information.

(2) Command to enable brief mode (1).

(3) Toggle command for brief mode (1). Turns brief mode off and on.

See: verbose .

BTW, idiom. [Comp. of By the Way.]

By the way. Often used as a transition to or preface for adifferent but often related line of thought. Example: you are talking about rabbitswith Joe and Joe says, "BTW, did you know my sister likes carrots?"

Buffer, n.

Queue where data is temporarily held. This can be either a diskfile or a place in abstract memory.

Bug, n.

What programmers (and MUD builders) call an unwanted error. Any termused to describe real bugs or that is associated with incests may also beused to describe a bug of this type. Example: "We need some RAID! (tm)",bug killer is needed to fix all of the bugs I've found.

See: error , source code .

Builder, n.

On large MUDs, many people contribute to the virtual world. Suchpersons often have the title of "builder". Builders may or may nothave the same power as a wizard.

See: domain , wizard .

Byte, n.

Part of a machine word consisting of bits .

See: chomp , nibble .

C

Cast, v.

(1) To iniate a magical spell.

(2) To define what type of object something is.

See spell for details.

CF, n. [comp. of Center Fountain] (DIKU) Many towns contain a main or center fountain. Thelocation is called CF.

Channel, n.,v.

(1) Named or numbered communication route by which subscribers maylisten or send messages. Generally has replaced the shout feature MUDs once offered. Shout was essentially a single channel.Now games typically offer multiple channels, some public and othersprivate. Private channels may be exclusive to a particularguild or to game administrators .On some MUDs channels are treated like radio channels, where onemust have a special radio receiver. In others one uses a special

See: page .

(2) Use of magic based on the Wheel of Time book series.command to gain access.

Character, n.

(1) Object that represents a lifeform within the game.

See: NPC , player , pc .

(2) Single text letter. Example: "b".

See: PC .

Chat, v., n.

Style of communicating with other players that favors conversationin a human written language over symbolic or indirect methods.

Chomp, n.

(1) Same as snip .

(2) Three bytes .

See: nibble .

Clan, n.

Same as guild 2 .

Class, n.

Character membership or role providing access toa special set of skills or magical abilities.Some games limit players to holding membership in more than one class.Common classes (DIKU): Cleric , Mage , Thief ,Warrior .

See: guild 1 , skilltree .

Classless, n., adj.

MUD that does not support or provide classes .

Cleric, n.

Class of those associated with temple worship.Typically have the power to heal.

Client, n.

(1) Program used to communicate to a game. Such clients areintended to make interfacing with the game more user friendly.

(2) Any program that is incomplete unless used in conjunction with aserver (or central process).

See: program , hilite , trigger .

Close, v.

To limit access to. Command or act that limits accesss to the contents ofcontainers type items or to room exits provided by doors .

See: open , lock , unlock .

Code, n., v.

(1) Plural (spelled "code"): instructions. Collectively known as aprogram .

(2) Same as password .

(3) (v). To create programs .

Codebase, n.

Fundamental underlying code of a MUD. Usually refersto the server and not a mudlib or othernon-essential data files.

Coder, n.

(1) Someone who makes modifications and additions to the codewithin a MUD .

(2) Title given to someone who may code (3) .

See: Head Coder .

Color, n.

Also colour [British].

Feature producing colors on ANSI compatible terminals .Often used in the promotion of text based MUDs.

Combat, n.

(1) Aspect of a game related to physical conflict (within a MUD).

(2) Game that features warriors in competition described asphysical.

See: system for balance relationship.

Command, n.

Word or sentence containing instructions for the game to follow.

See: command line .

Command Line, n.

Place for you to enter commands for the game such asat the MUD prompt .

Compress, v.

To reduce the size of something. Typically a computerprogram makes a file of data that was once large smaller.A decompress is required to re-create the originalfile.

CON, n. [comp. of constitution]

See: constitution .

Consider, v.

To size up an opponent such as for combat.

Often abrev. con.

Constitution, n. also CON

(1) Character statistic that often indicates a form ofendurance.

(2) Character's moral alignment: evil , neutral or good .

(3) Chief game rules for players , which are specific to aparticular MUD.

See: character .

Connect, v.

Same as logon .

Connected, n.

(1) To be in control of a particular character at this moment.

(2) To be in communication with the game.

See: linkdead , switch .

Coordinate System, n.

Game play scheme that allows items within a location to be precise distances from each other. For instance a door maybe five units from a table. Most often used in combat gamesand depictions of outer space or other situations where players areallowed to move great distances without necessarily leaving onedistinct location. Sometimes associated with virtual rooms.

See: ranged weapons , sublocation ,X , Y , Z .

Copyover, n.

(DIKU) Same as hotboot .

Core, n.

File (usually megabytes in size) that may be created when a gamecrash occurs. The file creation is called a core dump. A corefile can be used to examine the state of the game at the time of thecrash, and help diagnose the cause.

See: crash .

Core Dump, n.

Same as core .

Corpse, n.

Dead remains of a character (PC or NPC ) that has beenkilled. These may act as open containers for the possesions which theliving character had. Note: The corpse is often only a representation ofthe character that died so it is possible for living characters to seetheir own corpse seperate from themselves.

Corpse Retrieval, v.,n.

Act of returning to the location of demise in orderto reclaim the body (and equipment) of a PC .This act often also involves eliminating whatever killedthe adventurer in the first place.

See: corpse .

Crash, v., n.

Unscheduled cessation of all game operations. This conditionusually deletes many current variables, meaning that the most recentlyperformed activities will leave no trace following the reboot .

See: hung , reboot .

Create, v.

(1) To build something for the first time.

(2) Same as logon, only this is to create a new PC .

Creator, n.

(1) Person responsible for the initialization of a MUD .

(2) Builder of areas . Some prefer therather ominous title, "Destroyer of Worlds" and biblical (or notso biblical) variations thereof.

See: founder , implementor , wizard .

Cryo, n. [Comp. of Cryogenically Frozen.]

(DIKU) Similar to hybernate .A specific form of renting available on some Diku MUDsthat usually costs the same as several days rent, but keepsthe character suspended until the player next connectswithout any additional daily rent costs.

Currency, n.

Any money circulated within the game and generally accepted forthe purchase of equipment or in other forms of trade.Often gold . Mostly limited to combat or otherRPG oriented games.

See: economy .

Cyberportal, n.

(1) Feature that allows game objects (PCs for example) to migratefrom one game server to another while both games arerunning.

(2) In game representation of a link to another gameserver for the transmissionof information to or from the other game.

See: intermud .

D

Daemon, n.

Program dedicated to performing a particular service orfunction .

Damroll, n.

(DIKU) Statistic that reflects how good a character isat inflicting damage in combat.

See: hitroll .

Dark, n.

Lacking description besides that the light level is low.

See: light , blind .

Data, n.

Information for a computer program to process .

Database, n.

Also DB.

Body of information.

(1) All of the information used to create or represent the objects presently in the active game universe .

(2) All files containing the working data needed to construct agame's areas , objects and PCs .

See: mudlib , playerfile .

D&D, n. [Comp. of Dungeons and Dragons.]

Also AD&D.

Dungeons and Dragons ®. A fantasy role-playinggame developed in the late 1970's with muchcommercial success. Many combat MUDS(esp. DIKU) are at least loosely derivative ofportions of the D&D ® system.

Death, n.

Temporary suspensionof normal play for a particular character .Not as certain as taxes in the world of MUDs.Typically penalties are associated with dying.Penalties like EXP deductions, loss of equipment , etc.

See: deletion , ghost , kill , suicide .

Decompress, v.

To enlarge something. Typically the same computer program that was used to compress a file of data isused to reverse the process 2 and recreate the originalfile.

Defrob, v., n.

(1) Wizard made common player; as penalty (involuntary), or fortheir recreation (voluntary). Wizard status is re-acquired after apenalty period is served or when the player meets the conditions ofrecreational advancement (available to any PC ).

(2) Demotion to lower wizard level by the administrator .

See: frob , frog .

Deletion, n.

Permanent destruction of an object such as a player'scharacter .

Deny, v.

To ban a character from the MUD. The "denied" characteris kicked off and unable to reconnect until an immortal has "undenied" them.

Dev/null, n.

From Unix. Nowhere. Example: "send your complaint to /dev/null" reallymeans "I don't care about your complaint."

DB, n. [Comp. of Database.]

See: database .

Description, n.

Information that defines an object's appearance from theperspective of a viewer. The viewer is typically a character .

See: long , short .

Development Site, n.

Host where a MUD is being worked on prior to goingpublic .

DEX, n. [comp. of dexterity]

See: dexterity .

Dexterity, n.

Measure of a character's agility.

See: statistics .

Dice, n.

Random selector. Often numbers displayed in the form n,n2 refer to"dice" -- the random selection of a value in the range of n..n2.

See: die , roll , XdY .

Die, n.

(1) Same as dice .

(2) Same as death .

Diety, n.

Same as god .

Diku, n.

Also DikuMUD.

Combat oriented MUD developed in 1990 at theDepartment of Computer Science at the Universityof Copenhagen (Diku).Authors:Sebastian Hammer,Tom Madsen,Katja Nyboe,Michael Seifert,Hans Henrik Staerfeldt. Diku has spawned manychildren or related games.

Dino, n.

(1) Anyone who is seen as a founder of a MUD concept or builder ofserver and who has been involved with MUDs for longer thantwo years.

(2) Anyone who has been involved with MUDs for longer than two years.Note: It is generally not considered proper to refer to one's self asa dino and some may not consider length of time involved with MUDsimportant to the definition.

Disconnect, v.

To severe a connection to the MUD.A command on many MUDs that allows immortals to disconnect a player while leaving their character linkdead .

See: freeze .

Do, v. Command allows you to give multiple commands on the same line.Each command set is seperated by a comma (,). Example:"do get sword,wield sword,kill balrog".

Donation, n.

From making sacrifical offerings to gods.

(1) System in which the donate command exists.Typically, donate will remove a specified item from acharacter and place that item in a fixed room where others may acquire it.

(2) Destination room of a donate command ."Let's go to donation and see if there's anythingwe can use."

(3) Monetary gift made to a game owner, often in return for special privledges. This is against the license agreement ofmost freely codebases .

Door, n.

Potential exit between rooms . Doors may be:open; You can pass through to another room,closed; You cannot pass through.locked; You must unlock the door to use it.

See: close , lock , open , unlock .

Domain, n.

Large area operated or maintained by a wizard . Most oftenhas a set theme.

Driver, n.

Game server.

(1) A game server that derives most if not all of theuniverse rules from a DB .

(2) Loose name for server.

See: server .

Drop, v.

(1) command to take items from one's inventory andplace them into the room .

See: get .

(2) To say you are targeting a specificcharacter for killing.Most often used on pure pk MUDs. Example:Maetar says, "Dropping Korpora."

Dual-Class, n.

System in which a character may hold up totwo classes at the same time.Typically one class is active (or effectual)while another is on hold.

See: class , multi-class .

Dynamic Text, n.

(EM 1993) Descriptions that modifythemselves based on external factors. For example, a roomdescription that changes from "There are piles of snowbelow the windows" to "Puddles of water shimmer beneath thewindows" depending on the weather. Only applies to textgenerated as a result of instructions embedded in dataspecific to a particular room and not gang orwholesale application of footers or "tags" tootherwisestatic descriptions.

E

Echo, v., n.

(1) To send a literal message.

(2) To send a message to all users (without regard to rank)simultaneously.

See: message .

Echoall, v., n.

Same as echo 2 .

Economic, adj.

Same as economy .

Economy, n.

Whole sum of trade including profit and loss as it can beobjectively measured in units of quantity.

See: currency , inflation , system for balancerelationship.

Editor, n.

Program that assists or makes possible the creation ofgame elements. Room editors that hide the pitfalls associatedwith the complexity ofunderlying mud code is a type of this.

See: OLC , Room Maker .

EM, n. [Comp. of Encyclopædia of MUDs derived.]

You will find some terms in this dictionary associated with "(EM)"Play on the U.S. trademark symbol (TM).Word or phrase was developed at the Encyclopædia of MUDs projector by the author of the same buthas been placed in the public domain (you may use it freely.)

Emote, v. [Comp. of Emotion.]

To display emotion. When used as a command it causes user input toproceed the name of the actor. Example: "emote laughs." causes the MUDto show others "[your name] laughs."

Often abbreviated as : in command form.

Eq, v.

Same as equip .

Equip, v.

Command related to wearable items.

(1) To start using an item that can be wielded or worn.

(2) To display items in your inventory presently worn or wielded.

See: wear , wield .

Equipment, n.

Primarily wearable items. Also may include all items in theinventory of a character .

See: equip .

Error, n.

Unwanted occurence or event. Most esp. those that can beprevented by modifying game code .

See: bug .

ETLA, n. [Comp. of Extended Three Letter Acronym.]

Acronym of four letters or more that is derivedfrom a root acronym having three letters. Example: ROFLMAO from ROF .

See: TLA .

Evil, n.

Range of moral alignment that is at the other end of the spectrumfrom good.

See: good , constitution ,neutral .

Exit, n., v.

Method of moving between rooms .

Exp, n., interj. [Comp. of Experience Point(s).]

Also XP and xp.

(n). Measure of one's skill. For players it is directly related to one's level in a game. Very much like the score number in video games.Most often used in combat oriented games, as a reward for kills.

(interj). Celebratory remark indicating that one has just gained asignificant number of experience points. Closely akin tothe level exclamation.

See: Quest Points , Player Killer .

Experience Points, n.

Same as EXP .

F

FAQ, n. [Comp. of Frequently Asked Questions.]

Collection of questions and answers packaged into a file.

Flag, n.

Semaphore or indicator of a particular state. The keys on yourcomputer keyboard are flags in a sense because they can be in morethan one state (depressed or not, up or down) and this differencein states is used to send signals. MUDs use a similar principleto keep track of what's happening in all objects . Aplayer might have a flag to indicate whether or not itis authorized to use builder commands for instance.MUDs also employ variables .

Flame, v., n.

(1) To deride another's opinion.

(2) To respond to another's opinion in an inflamitory fashion.

Flee, v.

Command which causes the actor to stop fighting and exit thecurrent room. Often this command is renamed "runaway".

Force, v.

Administrator's utility.The command causes whoever the user wishes to perform specified actions (in most cases). Example:"Dave forced you to smile" means that player Dave used the forcecommand on you.

Founder, n.

(1) One who is most responsible for the underlying philosophy of a game.Often used in place of implementor .Unlike an implementor, a founder can only be one of the original creators of a game.

(2) creator of something. Example: The clan founder.

Frag, n. [Comp. of Fragment(ed).]

(1) Corruption of a playerfile . Expression:"My player is fragged."

(2) To kill. Esp. when retribution for betrayal by the victim.

G

G, n.

Also

g*.

Grin. Used to display amusement.

See nod .

Gag, v.

To suppress.

(1) Common ability of client programs, allowing the user toignore unwanted messages.

(2) To prevent a user from communicating.

See: client , hilite , user .

Garbage Collection, n.

Same as recycle (2) .

GDB, n. [Comp. of GNU Debugger.]

Popular and freely available code diagnostic tool among certaingame programmers.

Get, v.

command to take an item from the room ora container and put it somewhere else.

See: drop , inventory .

Ghost, n. (LP) Suspension of the ability to manipulate equipment and to communicate with other players . Occurs betweendeath and the next life . Esp. early LP.

God, n.

Also diety.

(1) Any immortal user. These are those whosecharacters cannot die. Often a wizard .

(2) Any user not limited in the manner that players are.

See: admin , root , user , wizard .

Goddess, n.

Also diety.

God of female gender .

Gold, n.

Common form of money on many games. Measured in pieces that areequivalent to some generic standard coin.

See: GP .

Good, n.

Range of moral alignment that is at the other end of the spectrumfrom evil.

See: evil , neutral ,constitution .

GP, n. [Comp. of Gold Piece.]

Gold piece. Used as currency within some games.

See: currency .

Goto, v. [Comp. of Go To.]

(1) Same as teleport 1 , but only used by wizards or administrators .

See: teleport .

(2) Keyword many programming languages support. Shouldbe avoided, as it can turn code into "spaghetti programming".

Groundhog Day, n.

(Aber) Scheduled periodical reset of all game areas thatrestocks or replaces valuable prizes, NPCs and other gameelements.

See: repop .

Group, n., v.

(1) To associate one's self with other players for some purpose.

(2) Command to create a group consisting of a limited number ofplayers. Such grouping allows for collective action directed by thegroup leader (who executes the command). Withing the typical MUDenvironment, this will greatly simplify the logistics of movingplayers .

See: party .

Guild, n.

(1) School where players may learn skills or share in a privatesocial order for a price.

(2) Also clan. Company or group of players whose members identify with somesymbol or creed.

(3) Association or corporation. Such as an economic body or unionof players organized for the express purpose of providing goods andservices in return for monetary profit. These bodies should havecorporate identites (tradenames and trademarks, slogans, gurantees,standards and the like).

See: channel , players .

H

Hack and Slash, n.

Combat oriented game. Describes the action onsuch games. Esp. those that feature swords.

Hang, v.

See: hung .

Harass, v., n. ha-ras, -ment

(1) Toggle type command starts or ends a log of events associated withthe player including her actions and the actions of those nearby.The log is intended to provide evidence of harassment togame authorities.

(2) To attack. Continuing attacks on a player. Most often refers to activityoutside of accepted game play and is illegal on many muds.

See: log , spam .

Head Coder, n.

Title. Chief among coders .

Head Implementor, n.

Title. Same as owner .

See: implementor .

Heal, v.

To improve the condition of a character .

See: cleric .

Healer, n.

Nickname for cleric . Something like an army medic.During combat the healer isresponsible for keeping the tank alive.

Heartbeat, n.

(esp. LP) Period of time associated with an object like acharacter . Determines when actions unique tothat object may occur. Provided in 1 second increments. Usuallyprovides a regularly timed intervalbetween events associated with the object. For example amonster with heartbeat of 3 seconds could only iniate actionsspecific to it every third second.

See: pulse , tick .

Help, n.

Also info .

System provided for looking up and reading information relatedto a game. Often interactive in nature.

Hermaphrodite, n.

Character with attributes of both the male and female genders.

See: character , neuter , sex .

Hibernate, n., v.

(LP) Command suspends your character for an extended period oftime. The user specifies the suspension period in days. Once iniatedthe command cannot be undone. Often used by college students addicted toplaying who wish to exile themselves during exam time or even summervacation. [Name probably originated at The MUD Institute (TMI) butconcept predates this.]

Hilite, v. [Comp. of Highlight.]

To illuminate. Common ability of client programs, allowingthe user to have certain messages shown in reverse or bold text.

See: client , gag .

History, n.

(1) List of recent commands issued by a user . Usuallydisplayed in order of oldest to newest and indexed with numbers sothat old commands may be repeated simply by providing the number (asin !n where n is the number from the list.

(2) Study of the development and implementation of MUDs.

(3) Related to an individual's involvement with MUDs.

See: mudology .

Hit Point, n.

Same as hp .

Hitroll, n.

(DIKU) Statistic reflects how gooda character is at hitting in combat.

See: damroll .

Hitter, n.

Warrior who has high hitroll and damroll when teamed up with a tank . Thehitter is responsible for damaging the target.

HMM, interj., n. [Comp. of Well or "Well in That Case".]

Used to show one is reevaluating the current situation.

HnS, adj.,n. [Comp. of Hack and Slash.]

(1) Type of MUD that reloves around killing monsters as opposed to PKing .

(2) Player who spends her time killing and looking tokill things. Often a derogatory reference.

Holylight, n.

(DIKU, esp. Circle) Flag gurantees that a character has perfectvision (can see) in all circumstances. Usually foradministrators .

See: visible .

Home, n.

(1) Room or town that a player entersthe game at.

(2) (LP) Command that causes a character toteleport home (1).

Host, n.

Machine on which a game or other service resides.

Hotboot, n., v.

Also copyover.

(DIKU) Reboot that does not require users to disconnectfrom the game. Note:

Hotel, n.

Also Inn.

Place on certain games where a PC must go beforelogout in order to save their inventory for the next time they play.Sometimes called renting .

HP, n. [Comp. of Hit Point(s).]

Measure of how many more times an object may be struck by a forcecausing one damage point before hit points are less than or equal to0. Usually when hit points fall below 1, death or destruction of theobject will occur.

See: tick .

Hung, n.

State of perpetual deadlock. A game is said to be hung when it doesnot respond to user input for unusually long periods of time. Esp. Ifthe state persist until a crash .

Hunter, n.

NPC that follows players around and attack them. Huntersgenerally only harass (2) players who attacked them first.

Hybernate, n.,v. (1) To suspend play for a particular character.(2) Command provided for persons addicted to playing MUDs such asstudents to impose a ban on playing with their character for some specified period of time like the months of summer breakfrom school. Once iniated the ban is enforced automatically by thegame.

See: suicide .

Hybrid, n.

Mixture of two or more types forming a new thing.

I

Idle, n.

Also idle time.

Period of time sense the last input was received from a user .Many games dump make linkdead thePCs pf users that have been idle too long. "Too long" usuallyvaries depending on what the user was doing last and the internalrules of the game.

See: reconnect , timeout .

Illegal, n.,adj.

(1) MUD that is operated on a host without the permission of theowner.

(2) MUD that is operated in violation of the license provided.

(3) Player actions that are in violation of the rules of play.

See: legal .

IMHO, [Comp. of In My Humble Opinion.]

This is my belief. It is my belief.Often used as a preface to arguments based on personalexperience or belief.

Immortal, n.

(1) Rank of an administrator , builder orwizard .

(2) Character with resistance to death. Most often aPC .

See: mortal .

Imp, n. [Abbrev. of Implementor.]

See: implementor .

IMPCG, n. [Comp. of Interactive Multi-Player Computer Game.]

Also MUA , MUD .

More general name for MUDs.

Implementor, n.

Also Imp.

Person who is most responsible for having started a game. Refersmost often to one with the knowledge and ability to change the mostbasic elements of a game. But in any case it always describes whoeverthe first administrator of a game was.

See: founder .

In, v.

Same as at .

Index, n.

Number of an item in a list .

Infared, n.

Abilitiy to see in the dark . Usually refers toa limited form used by a player.

Inflation, n.

State of economy where the cost of purchasing common items isprohibitive. Occurs when either the supply of money available topurchase items dwindles or the cost of items has been artificallyraised to match some set percentage of the total money held byplayers and only a very few players actually have the majority ofwealth.

Inn, n.

Same as hotel .

Interactive, n.

(1) Responsive to input. Typically describes the specialapplication of extended communication between aprogram and a user . For example if theuser asks to change her password and the game responds, "Enteryour password: ", the user is accessing an interactive program,the password changing program.Note: A MUD itself is interactive.

(2) Object presently under the direct control of a human beingsuch as a character .

See: link , living .

Intermud, n.

(1) Loose association of MUDs .

(2) Lines of communication between members of an associated MUDcommunity. Network services. NOTE: Software plug-ins for LP and ABER type MUDs whichallow for the games to share cyberportals exist. As of October 1998 noknown Abermuds use the service. CoolMUDs also have a standardof their own. See www.imaginary.com for the technical specificationsof one Intermud.

See: cyberportal .

Inv, v., n. [Comp. of Inventory.]

See: inventory .

Inventory, v., n.

Displays a list of items in a character's possession or within aroom .

Invisible, n.

Not being percevied by other character .Most often in the same room as.

See: blind , dark .

Item, n.

Any object visible to a character within the MUD .Esp. non-characters .

J

Jail, n.

Also prison.

Isolated room where the administrator may placea player or wizard forillegal behavior. Room usually willrestrict the commands and limitthe communication of the character imprisioned.

Job, n.

Work to be done. Often programs are made to do specificjobs.

Junk, v., n.

Command on many games which causes a specified object to be removedfrom the active game DB . It is useful for players to help keep agame clean of garbage.

See: sacrifice .

K

Key, n.

(1) Object used to lock and unlock things.

(2) Same as password .

Keyword, n.

What MUD builders call any identifier used to label informationrelated to an object . Example: The keywords by which a player may pickup a sword might be: "sword," "a sword" and "the sword".

Kill, v.

To remove the life from. Unlike in real life, death on most MUDs isonly a short interruption of normal activities. Combat MUDs usuallybestow a penalty (such as loss of levels or money) upon those thatdie.

See: banish , nuke , linkdead ,pk .

L

LAF, n. [Comp. of Laugh.]

Also laff.

Indicates mild amusement. Often used by younger mudders .

Laff, n.

Same as LAF .

Lag, n. [v. lagged]

State of slowed activity. LAG is most often measured by how long ittakes a MUD to respond to commands issued by a user. There are severalcauses of lag, including: Net lag, host lag, and game lag. Net lagoccurs when the network lines conducting communication between theuser and game are too saturated. It can be detected by measuring thedifference in speed between users calling from the host that thegame operates on vs. users calling from remote sites . Host lag is whenthe machine which the game operates from is under powered (trying todo too many things at once).Finally Game lag originates from the MUDitself. This can be caused by many internal thingslike an excessive number of lockouts .

See: lockout , user .

Legal, n.,adj.

(1) Most often a MUD run in accordance with its license .

(2) Player actions that are allowed by the rules of play.

See: illegal .

Level, n., interj.

Mostly limited to combat oriented games.

(1) (n). Ranking. Ideally proportional to one'sEXP (experience points) playing acombat game and are unique to thecharacter one plays. Note: game builders and administratorsmay have outrageously high level rankings. Relatively speakingthat is...

(2) (interj). Declares the achivement of a higher level .Example: Joe shouts, "level!" after having just attained a newlevel.

Level Based, n.

MUD that supports levels .

See: Skill Based .

Level Less, adj.

MUD without levels . Normally such games areskill based .

Library, n.

(1) Place where all files unique to a particular game world reside.Esp. data files.

(2) Room with the theme of a real world library or placeof records where players may access information.

See: mudlib , database .

License, n.

Permission to use a MUD and the rules regulating that usage. MostMUDs have a license that the game owner must agree to before legallyoperating the server .

Life, n.

Instance of continued existance uninterrupted by death .

See: living , death .

Light, n.

MUD builders often use the term to refer to the visible state of aroom or object. A number known as "light" may be given to a room orother object. If the number is positive the room is illuminated(brighter with higher numbers.) If the number is zero or a negativenumber it is dark (darker the lower the number.) Generally speakinga room with a light value of 0 is the equivalent of a pitch black (orcompletely dark) room in the real world.

See: room , dark .

Link, n.

(1) Connection between a user and a game. Most often thelink between a user and a PC . Example: "Dave has lost hislink." -- The player/user Dave's connection to the game has beeninterrupted. Also can be a similar link between a user and any object.

(2) Method of using pointers to join the members ofa queue togetherinstead of a numerical index .

See: linkdead , reconnect .

Linkdead, n.

State in which PCs are said to be after all communicationbetween the user and the game is blocked. This condition is'linkless'.

See: link , quit .

List, n.

Also queue .

Items arranged such that one follows another.

Living, adj.

(1) To be a character or other object currently underhuman control or an object that is, within the virtual environment, considered to be alive (like an NPC ).

(2) (LPC) Any object so identified by the builder .

See: death , heartbeat , interactive .

Lo, interj. [Abrev. of Hello.]

Greetings, Hello again.

Location, n.

Distinct place. Often the same as room but may alsobe a sublocation or an abstract idea about therelation between someobject like your character andother places in the game.

Lock, v.

(1) To seal with a key . Objects that can be modifiedwith the close and open commands may also belockable. Once locked the item can only be open with theproper key.

(2) Temporary change of file access permission such that access ismore limited.

See: close , open , unlock ,

Lockout, n.

Also command lockout, wait.

Period of time, after execution of some command ,during which no further input is processed.Sometimes provided as a method to reduce the occurence ofgame lag by limiting how many commands a player may usein a given period of time like one second. Also used toeven the odds in combat and other contest as it removes some of theadvantage players with faster net connections or specialclient programs would otherwise have.Example: Kicking in combat causes 3 rounds of lockout.Sometimes miscalled "lag".

See: lag .

Log, n., v.

(1) Record of activity. Most games keep log files on certain gameactivities. This varies widely from one MUD to the next. In generalautomatic logs are kept about when and who may have broken the highestrules of the game.

(2) To record something like a conversation.

See: snoop .

Logon, n., v.

To enter a game. Those events unique to the act of entering the game.Example: Entering your player name and password .

See: logout .

Logout, n.,v.

To leave the game by an orderly processiniated by the Usually involves acommand like quit or one with identical resultsnamed "logout".

See: logon .

Long, n.

What MUD builders call the body of descriptive text concerning anobject. This is what a player sees below the title of a room or whenlooking at an object.

See: description , short .

L8TR, interj., n. [Abbrev. of Later.]

Fairwell, good-bye.

M

M8, n. [Comp. of Mate.] Mate [British]. Often used by young mudders .

Macro, n.

Function provided by clients that allows a simplekeystroke or key combination to send associatedcommands tothe MUD server . Similar to alias .Example: pressing Ctrl-r sends the command recall tothe server.

Mail, n.,v.

(1) System for filing, processing and delivering electronicmessages to the mailboxes of game users .May also utilize Intermud or Internet gateways to send and receive mail outside the game.Mail addresses for games typically are in the form user@game,as in Joe@CyberMUD.

(2) To send such a message.

Mana, n.

Of Melanesian/Polynesian origin, related to the Hawaiian/Maori word.The power of the elemental forces. It is a measure ofspell - casting power.

Mage, n.

Class of those who practice magic.

See: magic .

Magic, n.

Not so magical afterall due to wide availability: commands thatsimulate the possession of paranormal or supernatural abilitiesthrough parallels in the virtual environment. Example:casting a fireball that destroys your enemy. Somethingyou probably don't do very often in real life.

See: spell for details.

Marriage, n.

Loosely binding agreement between two players to behave withina game as if they are married. Usually established with a formalceremony(whatever that means in the specific game)attended by high ranking members of the game administration.Sometimes couples are afforded additional rights, such asto have a private domain or house. A record of the marriageis generally publicized. Surprisingly (?) divorce is alwaysavailable on "no fault" grounds without any waiting period.More surprising (?) is the fact that many couples married in MUDsare actually dating each other in real life.

Master, n.

(1) (DIKU) Common title for the NPC head of aguild 1 .

(2) (LP) The master object; A virtual - server to be loadedand run by thedriver . It usually handles some high level mudlib security, acts as a front end for shutdown orders and performs someadditional task when the game is booted .

(3) [Comp. of Dungeon Master.]

Same as root .

Meltdown, n., adj.

Gradual deterioration in MUD functions, culminating in a crashedor hung state.

See: crash , hung .

Message, n., v.

(1) Transmitted words or images intended for a person to receive.

(2) Collection of messages associated with a particular character or object and sent to players.

(3) (v). To send a message.

(4) Data unit used by computer program(s) .

See: pulse .

MOB, n. [Comp. of Mobile.]

(1) Agressive monster or NPC .

(2) Same as Mobile or NPC .

Mobile, n.

(1) NPC or PC , so called because they are capableof moving between rooms via exits . Usually refers to a NPC .

(2) Any Object that moves between rooms .

Monster, n.

Same as NPC .

Mortal, n.

All characters subject to death. Esp. oncombat oriented games. Most often refers to a PC .

See: immortal .

MOTD, n. [Comp. of Message of the Day.]

File containing recent news. Often displayed to users afterthey have been authenticated .

Mount, n., v.

(1) character or object that PCs can use for transportation.Examples: a horse, or car.

(2) Command to load, reset or restore a game area. This isvaugely similar to the UNIX command.

Move, n.

(DIKU) Statistic . Same as MP .

MP, n. [Comp. of Movement Point.]

Sometimes MV.

Measure of a character's movement. Like themeasure of gasoline (or petrol) in an automobile tank, movementpoints indicate the range of a character's movement remaining.Typically it cost at least one movement point to move from oneroom to another. Terrain mayaffect the number of points required to traverse a givenlocation .

MUA, [Comp. of Multi-User Adventure.]

Describes MUDs . This is the more precise technical term.

MUD, n., v. [Comp. of Multi-User Domain or Multi-User Dungeon.]

Also MUA .

(1) Computer generated world of imaginary objects intended fornumerous people (users ) to play simultaneously asadventurous actors. The term MUD applies tomany games, including mostly non-combat MUDs which prefer to be calledby their label name (Example: MUSH, MOO) or MU*s, a term used tode-emphasize the presumption that the "D" in MUD always signifies"dungeon."Note that MUDs are also used for business applications such asteleconferencing and operating virtual offices.

MUDs may use graphical animation, sound or other non-textual media.

(2) To play a MUD.

(3) Computer program that is the process constituting aMUD 1 .

See: master .

Mud Addict, n.

One who is addicted to playing, building or managing MUDs.Like any entertainment, MUDs can be addictive. Signsof addiction: playing a MUD for 12 hours straight,saying MUD specific idioms or using metaphorsdervived from MUDs with persons who don'tplay MUDs in real life. Example: Telling your significantother who knows nothing about MUDs, "Level! AFK L8R. You'rea troll."

Mudding, v.

To play a MUD or MUDs. Same spelling in all tenses.

Mudler, n. [Comp. of MUD Player.]

One who plays MUDs. It is used to refer to any mud user, regardlessof rank.

Mudlib, n. [Comp. of MUD Library.]

(1) Directory containing the entire working DB . of a game. Itis simply called "lib" on DIKUs.

(2) Files which collectively make-up thenon-driver /non-server data of a game (esp. on LP).

See: library , path .

Muddling, v.

(1) To meddle with. To make sport of something.

(2) Same as mudding .

Mud List, n.

Listing of games including most recent statuses. Often dividedinto categories like fantasy and historical.

Mudology, n.

(EM ) MUD centered biography. In its simplest form an individual mightprovide a resume of MUD work in application to a new MUD project.In the fuller form details in extent comparable to an Encyclopedicbiographical entry.

Mudsex, n., v.

To engage in social activities on a MUD which clearly demonstratereal life sexual activity.

MUG, n. [Comp. of Multi-user Game.]

Multi-user Game [British].Any game played by more than one user. Not necessarily a MUD.Better to use the less vauge MUD.

See: MUD .

Multi-Class, n.

System in which a character may initially pickmore than one class to play. Multiclassing is

Multi-player, n.

(1) Type of game that allows a user to own or control more than oneplayer character (PC).

(2) Person controlling more than one player character (PC)simultaneously.

See: PC .

Multiple User, n.

Environment (such as a computer operating system or MUD) thatsupports more than one simultaneous user .

Multi-user, n.

Same as Multiple User .

MUSH, n. [Comp. of Multi User Shared Halucination.]

Popular MUD base. Typically social or strict RPG in nature.

N

Neuter, n.

Being neither male or female in gender. Paradoxically, "neuter" may be referred to as the "gender" of a gender neutralcharacter .This is probably the result of programmers posing binaryquestions like, "What gender are you (Male, Female, Neutral)?"(gender should only be "male" or "female") when more than onequestion or a better formed question is needed.

See: gender , race .

Neutral, n.

Moral alignment of zero. This is neither good or evil.

See: evil , good , constitution .

Newbie, n.,adj.

(1) One who is a novice to playing MUDs.

(2) One who is a novice in a particular experience. Example: newbiecoder.

Newlock, n.,v.

(1) Condition of a game when the creation of new PCs is not allowed.

(2) Command to affect (1).

See: wizlock .

Nibble, n.

Half a byte .

See: chomp .

Nickname, v.

Command to replace matching words with a nickname.Finds words after the first word in subsequent command entriesthat are nicknames and expands them to the word you have nicknamed. Feature can be overidden by placing a backslash (\) before theword you do not want to be treated as a nickname.This allows you to use shortened words to refer to othercharacters and objects . Sending tells toplayers with long names is no longer an annoyance!

Nod, n.,v.

Indicates agreement. Examples: Joe nods. Joe says, "nod".

See: g .

Nog, v. slang.

(DIKU) Form of nod that indicates partial understanding.

See: boggle .

NPC, n. [Comp. of Non-player Character.]

All of the data and characteristics of any object used by a game torepresent an actor which is meant to operate without much humanintervention.

See: PC .

Nuke, v.

To utterly destroy another player. Usually refers to the deletion ofall data once associated with a particular player; "A fate worse thandeath."

See: frog , suicide .

Null, n.

Something having a value of zero. Note: Null actually means thatwithout value and may be distinct from the number zero.

O

Object, n.

(1) Object that PCs can handle using commands such as "get"and "drop." Note: Although rooms and PCs are objects they areusually not called such by players.

(2) Data structure used to represent a basicelement of the game. Usually not visible to players.

See: room , pc .

OLC, n. [Comp. of Online Creation.]

Refers to the code or commands that allow editing things such asareas , rooms , objects , mobs ,socials , and helps while connected tothe mud .This is specifically designated for thecode and command that allowreal-time changes directly to the mud withoutthe necessity for a reboot before the changestake place. It also removes a lot of bugs ,errors ,that can happen when using a client .These problems are not necessarily aproblem with the client, but is typically a result ofthe mud differing from the stock version thatthe client expected.

See: Room Maker .

Open, v.,n.

To make accessible. Command or act that provides access tothe contents of container type items or to room exitsprovided by doors .

See: close , lock , unlock .

Owner, n.

Also Head Implementor.

Person who owns the MUD.

See: implementor .

P

Pad, n., v.

To fill unwanted spots with something else.

Page, v., n.

To notify. A command by this name exist on many MUDs, most esp.social oriented ones. It either allows the user to send amessage toanother user or tells the user that the sender wishes an audience.

See: tell , say .

Party, n.

Team of players working together towards some specific goal.Usually involves movement of characters from one area of the game toothers. Most often formed to solve quests or forcombat purporses.

See: group .

Password, n.

Secret key sequence normally needed to authenticate or show thata person is the user that they claim to be.

Path, n.

(1) Technical directory specific location of aroom , monster or object .Example: /worlds/earth/myhouse

(2) Series of links that lead from one location to another. Anyrepresentation of the same.

See: mudlib .

PBEM, n.,v. [Comp. of Play by E-Mail.]

Same as PBM , except limited to e-mail.

PBM, n,v. [Comp. of Play by Mail.]

Also PBEM .

(1) Type of game that is played by mail. Originally suchgames were by snail mail but today largelyconducted via e-mail. Games of this sort are closely akin toMUDs, sharing a common ancestory (RPG games).

(2) To play a game by mail.

PC, n. [Comp. of Player Character.]

(1) All of the data and characteristics of an object which a gameuses to represent an actor whose actions anddescription are mostoften under the control of a human user .

(2) Actor within a game. May be human controlled or automatic.The latter of these being often called AI (artifically intelligent).The human controlled presents a persona composed of virtual and real elements that are a character in the live theater orcinema sense and something more when one considers that the observeris also immersed within the world of the MUD.

(4) Personal Computer. Example: An IBM clone.

See: character .

Peek, v.

(1) Wizard command that when used with the argument of a player name will give you thepath , short and long description ofthe room where the specified character is located.

See: people .

People, v.

Wizard command lists the names andlocations of allusers andplayers presently connected.

See: peek , wizlist .

Ping, v.,n.

Intermud service that allows you to check whetheranother game is presently online and how much lag thereappears to be.

PK, n., adj., v. [Comp. of Player Kill(er).]

See: Player Kill and Player Killer .

PL, n., v. [Comp. of Player Looting.]

See: player looting .

Player, n.

(1) Human who plays.

(2) Single actor. The character owned by a human.

See: character , PC role-play .

Playerfile, n.

(Singular) Single file in which all of the important dataconcerning users of the game is stored.

(Plural) Body of files on which all of the important dataconcerning users of a game are stored.

Player Kill, v., n.

Also PK.

(1) (v). To kill a player. Usage: "I'll pk him."

(2) (n). Instance of such a killing.

(3) Flag that allows a player to kill others.

See: Player Killer .

Player Killer, n.

Also PK

PC (player) who has killed a fellow player. A PK can never bean NPC but only a character under the control of a real person.The term is usually used to describe habitual killers.

See: Player Kill .

Player Looting, v.

Also PL.

Removing equipment or something of value from the corpse of a PC without the permission of theoriginal owner. Typically fresh corpses are involved.Chiefly occurs on combat games.

See: corpse retrieval .

Player Wipe, n.

When a game's database of players is deleted forcing everyone to eitherquit playing or to start all over again.

Pointer, n.

Reference.

(1) To something real.

(2) To something virtual .

(3) To nothing at all. Esp. when used in programming.

Population, n.

Of a MUD is theaverage number of unique players that play the gameon an ongoing basis.

See: Population Density .

Population Density, n.

Number of players visible to the average player ina particular location within the game.

Port, n.

Number of the line a player is connected to the game by.Holdover from the BBS days when modems tied directly into thecomputer running a game. Now port refers to the index number ofthe file descriptor by which the game is presently communicatingwith the player. Essentially this number is meaningless toall but those involved in coding or working on the game behindthe scenes.

Powergamer, n.

Player who is only interested in accumulating as much personalpower as possible.

See: twink .

Pretitle, n.

Surname or title.String that appears before a player's name. Often of twentycharacters 3 or less. Automatically assigned onsome games, earned on others. Example pretitles: Lady, Lord, Madam, Prince, Princess, and Sir.

See: who , title .

Procedure, n.

(1) Part of a computer program that does work but does not return a value or pass the result on to another part of the same program.

(2) Rules to follow.

See: function , program .

Process, n.,v.

(1) Collection of procedures yielding structured or plannedresults.

(2) Computer program . Most often a currently running one.

Program, n.

Collection of instructions acted on by a computer to perform a task. A MUD is a program.

See: procedure , function .

Projectile, n.

Item for a weapon producing messages depicting the flight ofsaid item. Capable of actually striking targets. May require acoordinate system environment.Example: "Joe fires an arrow at You!"

See: armor , ranged_weapons .

Prompt, n.

Symbol or line of text which indicates that the MUD is ready toaccept commands . Prompts may also contain other informationsuch as player statistics .

See: client .

Prison, n.

Location isolated from others within which playersmay be held. An alternative to character deletionand similar permanent actions.Typically a single cell is designed for one occupant andcalled a prison. Suchplaces can be used by game administrators to punishbad behavor. Not to be confused with other places called prisonsthat serve thematic or quest roles in a game rather thanactual administrative purposes.For examples of bad behavior see:sexual harassment , spam .

Prop, n.

See: property .

Property, n.

Also prop.

Attribute or variable associated with a game object such as a PC .

Psi, n.

Same as Psionic .

Psionic, n.

Class of those who practice psionic or psyhic powers. Powersmay include:Astral Projection: appearing elsewhere in a non-solid form,Aura Detection: to easily visualize characteristics of othersbehavior that are usually hidden:Clarvoyance: to recognize associations between items andevents or characters past or future, knowing by simplythinking about it that a key youjust found was used by Joe Smith of Seattle, Washington 50years ago for example.Precognition: knowing events before they occur.Remote Viewing: very similar to astral projection.Telehypnosis Getting others to do what you want them to by merethought.Telekenesis To manipulate items by mere thought.Telepathy.: To transmit messages to another individual by merethought.

While these parallel alleged paranormal or supernaturalabilities practiced by persons in the real world others may bewholly derived from the popular images of fanastyor fiction.

See: mage .

Psteal, v., n.

(1) (DIKU) To steal from a PC .

(2) PC (player) who steals from a fellow player. A Psteal can never bean NPC but only a character underthe control of a real person.See: Player Killer .

Psychic, n.

See Psionic .

Public, n.

MUD which is open to the general public, who can create newcharacters at will.

See: semi-public .

Pulse, n.

Also heartbeat .

Smallest meaningful unit of time in a mud.Pulse duration is of variable length dependingon what the MUD attempts to perform during thatpulse. For example, a tick may occur every 200pulses, while reading commands from the inputqueue is done every pulse (consequently, the pulsethat coincides with a tick takes longer to perform).

See: tick .

Purge, v.

Command destroys all items in a room except for the user.

Pure PK, n. [Comp. of Pure Player Killing.]

Type of MUD on which play consist entirely of player to playercombat.

See: PK .

Pwipe, n., v. [Comp. of Player Wipe.]

See: Player Wipe .

Q

QC, n. [Comp of Quality Control.]

Maintenance of standards of quality for a mud. Usually handled byan Arch ot team of wizards . QC ensures thequality of all areas and things that are coded (1) before allowing them to be brought into the game.

Quaff, v.

(DIKU) Command causes a character to consume a magical potion.

See: spell .

Quality Control, n.

Same as QC .

Quest, n.

Most often zone specific , a quest is a task that must becompleted. The challenge often takes the form of a puzzle, combat ormixture of the two. Many MUDs require that a certain number of questsbe completed before the player is able to become a wizard .

See: Quest Points .

Quest Points, n.

Number of points assigned to a specific quest. Generallyindicates how difficult a quest is.

See: EXP (experience points) .

Queue, n. [British]

List or line of things. Used by programmers to manage data .Example saying: "Update the NPC queue."

See: link .

Quit, v.

Command which causes a PC to leave the game. On many MUDs this simply means that the game disconnects from the user (likelinkdeath). On other games it means the PC will be removed fromthe active DB and their data stored to disk for restoration attheir next logon.

See: linkdead , save .

R

Race, n.

In MUDs the term nearly always refers to the species a player'scharacter belongs to. Example: His race is human.

See: sex .

Ranged Weapons, n.

Some games have distances within rooms (or between rooms)measured in units that make it possible to calculate theeffectiveness of weapons based in part on the range between theshooter and the target. Example ranged weapon: bow and arrow.

See: coordinate system , projectile .

Rape, n., v.

Sexually suggestive actions or words directed at a player withouthis or her consent. Unfortunately there is no perfect defense againstthis kind of attack but note that this rape is of a far lesserdegree than real world rape as it does not involve any physicalinteraction. In the real world it would simply be called "sexualharassment" of the sort prank telephone callers engage in. Neverthelessmud rape is a serious matter that must be discouraged.

See: harass , Sexual Harassment , spam .

Real Life, n.

Same as RL .

Reboot, v.,n.

To restart. Events that cause a game to start performing its normaloperating jobs. This can only occur after a game is down (off).Note: Some games can reboot without disconnecting users .

See: hotboot , uptime .

Recall, v.,n.

(1) Command causing a character to instantly return or go toa specific location.

(2) Spell to effect recall (1). Often associated with ascroll (1) .

See: home 2 .

Reconnect, v.

To re-establish the link between user and character.On games that require users to logout , if you leavethe game by any other means your character will be calledlinkdead . The connection between character and humanis without link or broken. When you logon next you willhave reconnected. Note: some games call any making of a linkbetween character and user a "reconnect".

Record, v.,n.

(1) Act of making a log .

(2) Single entry in a DB of entries.

See: harass .

Recycle, n., v.

(1) Also garbage collection.To collect or submit something for disposal. Often done byplayers to generic or little valued items in an effortto remove clutter from rooms .

(2) MUD reclaims an object to be reused in another form.

See junk , rot .

Remort, v. [Comp of. Return to Mortal]

To return to the same level and EXP status of a newplayer.

See: newbie .

Reroll, v.

(1) Process of choosing the value for a particular characterstatistic. The opportunity to do this is offered to new players onsome games.

(2) Same as remort .

Renewal, n.

Derived form the 1973 film, "Logan's Run."

Phrases with are idioms that denote destruction.Example: "You'll get your renewal." Ie: "You will die."

Rent, n.,v.

(DIKU) Act of iniating billable storage for equipment while the player is disconnected from the game.Takes the place of the usual logout procedure.Typically the rate for storing equipment varies with moredesirable equipment costing greater amounts. The equipmentis kept on the body of the PC .Usually only available in special locations .When the player next connects to the game chargesare calculated. If they do not have the money to cover theaccrued storage fees (computed daily), their equipmentis not returned.

See: cryo , hotel .

Repop, v. [Comp. of Repopulate.] (DIKU) Same as Groundhog Day .

Reset, v.

(1) Act of changing a game object , area or areas from the presentstate to a previous state. See: Groundhog Day .

(2) Same as reboot .

Respawn, v.

(DIKU)Reset (1) of an object .Example: Has the Goblin King respawned yet?

Re-String, v.

To change the description of one instance of an item .

See: string .

Restore, v.

To revert to a previous condition. In particular MUDs often have acommand by this name to return the PC to a safe status shoulddata related to it be corrupted. In someMUD implementations anyone may use the command at anytime. Others aremore restrictive. All games generally leave some data un-restored(the age of the character , or information about what IP address theyconnected to the game from).

See: save .

RGM, n. [Comp. of rec.games.mud.]

Hirearchy of USENET news groups related to MUDs including:rec.games.mud.admin,rec.games.mud.announce, rec.games.mud.misc,rec.games.mud.DIKU,rec.games.mud.lp, and rec.games.mud.tiny. NOTE alt.mud.programming also!

RIP, interj.,n. [Comp. of Rest in Peace.]

(1) Proclaims that a character has died. May be used toexpress sorrow. Example: saying, "RIP!".

(2) Warning in the future tense: "you will die"; or statementof fact: "someone did die".

RL, n. [Comp. of Real Life.]

Reality. The day to day world. Outside of the game.

ROF, n. [Comp. of Rolling on the Floor.]

Indication of amusement. From "I'm rolling on the floor laughing".

See: roflmao .

Roll, v., n. [Comp. of Dice Roll.]

(1) Selection of an individual character stat (statistic) .Often during the character creation process a user mustgo through before playing a game.

(2) One in a series of turns during competition such as in combat.Provides the opportunity to damage an opponent.

(3) Act of randomly picking something.

See: dice , THAC0 .

Role-Play, n.,v.

Also RP.

To portray your character, reacting as they they would inthe given situation.

See: RPG .

Roleplaying, n.

(1) Describes the type of play in a RPG .

(2) To role-play .

Room, n.

Usually a distinct location to which players may movevia exits . Rooms generally consistof a title and description . Acommon error of newbie players is to visualize rooms as cells of equalsize. Infact the only assumptions about size one should make about aroom are those facts presented in its description. The contextor area a room is found in may be considered for otherpurposes.

Location is a more generic term that may be used inplace of room .

Room Maker, n.

Object or program that simplifies the process ofcreating a room .

Root, n.

From Unix. The supreme user(s) and administrator of a game. This person istypically a founder or implementor as well.Has the finaldecision in all matters on the game.

See: administrator .

Rot, v.

Items in a game that represent once living thingssuch as characters mayappear to decompose with messages associated with the decayof biological material in the real world. Example: "The dog's remainsemit a foul stench." The real object of this is to remove itemsfrom the game without having them simply vanish instantly.

See: recycle .

ROTFL, interj. [Comp. of Rolling on the Floor Laughing.]

Indication of laughter.

See: ROF , ROFLMAO , RTFM .

ROFLMAO, interj. [Comp. of Rolling on the Floor Laughing My A* Off.]

Also ROTFLMAO.

Indicates extreme amusement. Generally used by younger mudders .

See: ROF , ROTFL .

ROTFLMAO, interj. [Comp. of Rolling on the Floor Laughing My A* Off.]

Same as ROLFMAO .

Round, n.

Same as roll (2) .

RP, n., adj. [Comp. of Roleplaying.]

(1) To role-play .

(2) Type of game in which allplayers are expected to play a particularrole.

See: strict RPG .

RPG, n. [Comp. of Role Playing Game.]

Game in which players cooperate to enhance the game theme (orstory,) which is typically different from the day to day world.

See: Strict RPG .

RTFM, interj. [Comp of Read the Freaking Manual.]

Typically someone will use this term when another person isasking questions that are easily found in written documentation.It generaly indicates anger or lack of patience with the personseeking information and is considered a stern rebuke. Many wouldsay that the 'F' in RFTM stands for a stronger word than weindicate above.

Runaway, v.

Same as flee .

RWHO, n. [Comp. of Remote Who.]

Intermud service that allows you to see what players areplaying a MUD without actually connecting to that game.

S

Sacrifice, v.

(DIKU) [ROM version] To destroy an object by offering it to a god inreturn for a reward.

Often abbrev. sac.

See: god .

Save, v.

To store the important data associated with something to disk (whereit may be recovered in case of trouble). Most often refers to the"save" command which forces the game to save a player's data to disk.This data is used to re-create the player whenever they logon (or whenthey use "restore" on some games).

See: quit , restore .

Say, v.

This command is also (") or (') on many MUDs. It allows the actor tosend public messages in the local room. Example: "say hello!" wouldlet any player in the same room as yourself See: "[your name] says,hello!"

See: emote , tell , chat .

Score, v., n.

This command is available on many MUDs and displays statistics aboutone's own character.

See: stats .

Scratch MUD, n.

MUD that was written without using existing MUDserver or driver code for its foundation. The termis derived from the expression, "cooking from scratch."

See: stock MUD , vanilla .

Script, n.

(1) Program that serves some function. Oftenowned by a user and used with his or her client to send commands to a game.

(2) From Unix. Method of logging what occurs in a game.

Scroll, n., v.

(1) Magical spell item. Most often lacks reusability.

(2) To move across a computer screen as text commonly does.

Scry, v.

(1) Common Mage spell gives vision about the room thetarget is located in. Can only be used on players of equalor lower level .

See: at , goto , recall , spell (magic details), transfer .

Season, n.

Simulated atmospheric changes. Closely related to weather .

See: weather .

Semi-public, n.

Game that screensprospective players before granting them characters .

Server, n.

Also driver .

Actual game program that maintains the rules by which allobjects within a MUD must interact. This term is most oftenapplied to games which get most of their instructions on how tooperate from code compiled on the HOST .

Service, n.

Online product requiring a client-server relationshiplike e-mail or www (worldwide web) servers.A MUD is a service too.

See client , server .

Sex, n.

Gender status of a character. Typical examples: female, male,neuter .

See: race .

Sexual Harassment, n.

Unwanted attacks of a sexual nature.

See: harass , rape , spam .

Shie, pro. pronounced she-hee [Comp. of She/He/It.]

Rarely used.

(1) Character with an indefinite or unknowngender.

(2) Generic pronoun for use with any character .

(3) Having the characteristics of multiple genders.Examples: Shie is here.

See: gender .

Short, n.

This is what MUD builders call the brief summarydescription of an object. Example: "a sword."

See: long , keyword .

Shout, v.

Command of this name once existed in most MUDs . It allows the actorto broadcast a public message to most of the players presently in thegame. Its usage is almost always denied to new players and has latelybeen replaced by channels .

See: tell .

Shutdown, v., n. [Comp. of Shut Down.]

To turn off. To close. The act or event of turning a MUD off.When this happens play is no longer possible. A shutdown may be causedby the machine which the game operates on (when it shuts down). ormore likely by the administrators of the game or automated manager forthat purpose. Shut downs are performed regularly on many games toreduce the lag caused by an accumulation of 'lost' objects andfragmented memory. It often occurs (aswell as crashes) on games in theearliest stages of development.

Site, n.

Machine (Host ) or origin of some communication. Usuallyrefers to the "home" of a user or service .

Skill, n.

(1) Ability to perform a particular act unrelated to magic .Examples: brewing, fencing, mending, pickpocket.

(2) Numerical of presented in the form of stats.

Skill Based, n.

Alternative to the Level Based system .The progress of eachcharacter takes the form of individualskills rather than an overall level .Some MUDs allow players to purchase or improve skills with EXP .On others skills are increased with use.

Skilltree, n.

Organized system of abilities, skills or spells ,in which a higher ability has prerequisites, particularabilitie(s) that must be acquired before the higher one can be.For instance ability C. might require that you haveability A. and B.before you can acquire it.Ability Z. might only require C. but implicitly this means A. thru C.(as C. requires A. an B.).

Slay, v.

Command kills a character . Used byimmortals . Esp. Diku.

Snail Mail, n., adj. (or adj.+n).

(1) Any physical mail delivered via courier. The speed of deliverywill be slower, that is at a snail's pace, compared to electronicmail.

(2) Physical mail delivered by government postal service.

Snip, n.

Indicates that something has been deleted. Used precisely likeelpisis ("...").

Snoop, v. (n. snooper).

To detect all that another user does and sees. It is generallyconsidered impolite for anadministrator to snoop you without yourknowledge. And in the United States the Telecommunications lawactually makes it illegal forthe administrator(s) to share anything they may learn in this waywith the public.

Social, n.

Aspect of a game dealing with player to player interaction.Esp. simple communication known as chatting .

See: emote , socials , soul ,and system for balance relationship.

Socials, n.

Commands related to the expression of emotions. Used by playersto communicate.

See: emote , soul .

Soul, n.

(LP) Refers to all those actions (mostly social) which a player mightdo. Example: To smile is a soul function on many LPs.See: emote .

Source Code, n.

Computer instructions intended for humans to read. Most oftenin high level languages like C/C++.

See: codebase , program .

Spam, v.

(1) Act of disrupting normal communication, usually throughrepetitive means. Example: Someone making yourterminal display hundreds of"SPAM!" messages in a few seconds. Example: Someone harassing you on aMUD by telling you the same senseless message over and overagain.

(2) Repetative actions intended to break or illegal gain access to thesystem . Example: spamming a skill in order to gain morerapid advancement in that skill.

(3) Disruptive actions directed at a player orgroup of players.

See: harass .

Spell, v., n.

(1) (v). To cast.

(2) (n). Ability to use magic.

(3) (n). Specific magical affect. Spells come inmany forms. The basic structure is outlined below.

Invocation: typically the spell caster selects a target orvictim and then speaks or uses a tool of some sort (such as a wand).Affect: all spells cause some change to occur but the degreeof change depends on various conditions outside of the control of thespell caster. At a minimum the spell caster or tool has a reduced abilityto cast another like spell. The conditions include whetherthe target is protected againstmagic or of a nature (such as having some strength) that resists theparticular spell being attempted. The duration of spell affects maybe independent of these conditions, that is one spell may alwayscause "affects" that last 1 hour regardless of the fact that theintended victim doesn't notice. A spell might be 'instantaneous',that is the duration cannot be measured.After Effect:Some spells don't actually require a victim but they indirectlyaffect characters nonetheless. For instance posioning the food orwater that other characters need to drink or items suchas clothing or weapons with diseases are examples of indirecteffects.-- Note that in the methodology of MUD programming aliving target (such as a character ) isknown as a victim regardless ofwhether the affect of the spell is considered good or bad.If you're a victim you might say, "She cast a spell on me." =)

See: cast 1 , magic , skilltree .

Stabber, n.

Nickname for a thief .The stabber is responsible for starting a fight with a powerfulbackstab. After that, she is rescued by the tank .

Stat, v.,n.

(1) Any single one of a PC's stats.

(2) Administrator command used to review an object's stats.

See: stats .

Static, n.,adj.

Unchanging. That which remains the same.

Statistics, n.

See: stats .

Stats, n.

(1) Mainvariables used to determine how a PC reacts tostimuli. Ex. stats: DEX; dexterity , CON; constitution , DEX; dexterity ,EXP (or xp); experience , HP; hit points ,Mana , Quest Points , Spell (Points).

(2) Strength or weakness associated with a particular ability. Thetypes and number of skills varies widely but in general they existonly on combat oriented games where they are"learned" artifically. Usually very specific such as the abilityto pick door locks. Often exclusive to a particular class of player.

(3) Variable that the server can display to users within the game (the more exotic ones being reserved foradministrators ).Ex. stats: short , long , keywords .

Stock, n.

(1) Original version of a particular mud type.

(2) Uninspired copy of something else, as in a stock MUD .

See: base , vanilla , Stock MUD .

Stock MUD, n.

MUD which uses code that has not been significantlymodified from thatavailable in the public distribution of a MUD server ordriver's source code release.

See: Scratch MUD , stock .

Storeroom, n.

Room where items intended for sell in a store are stored.Example: a store selling dictionaries might not have any in themain purchase room but holds an inventory of dictionaries inthe storeroom (typically off limits to players).Akin to a warehouse but smaller.

Strict RPG, n.

Same as RPG , except that player cooperation is manditory.

String, n.

Text.

(1) Any text forming a distinct continuous unit. In a MUD this isgenerally percieved as being related to how quickly a given pieceof text is printed relative to other text. If one line of textprints and then there is a pause before the next line, the twolines are distinct from one another and are seperate strings.

(2) Part of a text. Text as a player sees it may appear to be asingle string 1 when in fact it is composed of multiplestrings from the programmer's perspective. To the programmer stringsare one or more letters represented within the game program by a variable .

Structure, n.

Organized system. Most often refers to the layout of a program .

Sublocation, n. Sublocated (adj.)

(EM ) Placement of an object within a location withgreater precision than the basic unit of measuring room distancesor the traditional inside of or outside of relations.Notrelated to coordinate systems or ranged weapons systems. Examplesof sublocation: 1.) object A. is next to object B, 2.) dividinga room into four parts and saying that object A. is in part 1while object B is in part 3., 3.) or many variations of these.

Suicide, n., v.

(LP) Command for self-deletion. Allows a user to permanentlyremove his or her character . This can be of assistanceto the MUD administrator because it frees up resources that wouldotherwise be dedicated to the character (such as diskspace).Players should consider the permanent affects of the commandcarefully before using it. Note: that while suicide destroys your characterit isn't likely to prevent someone else from creating a newplayer with the same name as your old one. Also most MUDs deletecharacters that have not been used for a long time. You can contact yourMUD administrator to find out how often this occurs.

See: deletion .

Switch, v.

Command to temporarily give a user's control over a differentcharacter or object .

See: become , snoop .

System, n.

(1) Both the constructed and natural parts of the artificalenvironment of a MUD.Typically includes social , economical and combat aspects of play.A construct is a rule or program instituted and maintained bygame administrators (also calleduniverse rules while the natural are those thingsprovided by the players . Broadly speaking administratorswant balanced games, that is a game with predicted and desired behavior inthe constructed and natural areas (ie: the whole system.)Having a perefectly balanced gameis considered to be the Holy Grail of MUD design and implementation.This would be simple to attain if there were not so many elementsconsidered essential to present an interesting game.

See: virtual reality .

(2) Collection of programs such as constitute a MUD or operatingsystem.

T

Talk, n., adj.

(1) Mode of activity where player to player language basedcommunication is of primary importance.

(2) Social Game. Not a combat oriented game.

Tank, v.,n.

(1) To shield.

(2) Lead attacker in a wolfpack like tactical manuever. In it the toughestcharacter , one having high AC and HP , oftenof the class of warriors ,strikes the target first, attracting its attention andshileding the other members of the pack from attack. While thetarget is occupied with defending itself against the strongwolf the rest of the pack,hitters , join in the attack.Popular tactic on combat games where players mayshare exp .

See: healer , hitter , stabber .

Teleport, v.

(1) Command by which authorized persons may travel to otherlocations without using conventional exits .

(2) Spell or method, only available under special circumstances,used to move the caster or other target to another location withoutusing conventional exits .

Tell, v.

Command for communicating messages to a specific user . Beware: Onsome games what you tell others with the "tell" command can always beseen by others in the same room .

See: whisper , shout .

Telnet, n., v.

Means of establishing and maintaining a connection to a game.

See: client .

Terminal, n.

Endpoint for communication. Usually means your computer.

Terminate, n.,adj.,v.

Symbol or method of ending a message.

Terrain, n.

(1) Location described as having features whichaffect movement on the ground. Typically such features limitmobility relative to other locations. Example: a swamp that mustbe crossed by a pc is difficult to cross.

(2) Resistance or ease of movement as measured in thecost of mp required of a character totraverse the location characterized by theterrain.

THAC0, n. [Comp. of To-Hit Armor Class Zero.]

To-Hit Armor Class 0 (zero). A holdover termfrom the days of D&D ® that indicated how wella person was able to hit. Strictly speaking, itis the number you had to roll (or exceed)on a 20-sided die in orderto score a hit on a person with a given AC .Hence, it was best to have a low THAC0.In MUDS, because the computer handles the die-rolling, it is notuncommon to hear people invert the meaning (i.e.good ability to score combat hits is a high THAC0).

See: combat , die .

Theme, n.

Underlying subject of a game or area .

Thief, n.

(1) One who steals from others.

(2) (DIKU) Class of those who steal.

Tick, n.

Period of time. Usually refers to a constant or unchangingperiod that is how often a particular game willupdate or reset objects . On DIKU MUDs a PC maynot be affected bythe condition of their stats until the next tick occurs. On a DIKUgame 1 tick most often lies somewhere between 40 and 90 seconds. Tickmay refer to the time interval used in performing many different jobs(such as updating zones or moving NPCs about).

See: heartbeat , pulse .

Tinybot, n.

See bot .

Tinyworld, n.

(Early DIKU) Name given to all of the working DB files . Example:tinyworld.wld, tinyworld.obj, tinyworld.mob, tinyworld.shp.

(2) The universe of a game called TINY.

Title, n.

(1) String thatappears after a player's name. Usually under fortycharacters 2. long.Some MUDs allow you to set yourown title while others may change it for you depending on yourclass , guild , level or combinationsthereof. Game set titles most often a feature of combat oriented games but may also be found on non-combat role-playinggames.

See: pretitle , who .

(2) Occupation or role within a MUD. Esp. pertaining tothose in administrative or creative positions.Some people go from game to game claiming that theywant to help build but never do. These collecttitles like baseball cards.

TLA, n. [Comp. of Three Letter Acronym.]

Short commonly used phrases which are shortened to three lettersfor ease of typing. Examples: BRB and AFK .

Toad, v., n.

(TINY) Same as frog 1 .

Town, n.

Game area which is called a town by its owner. Such areaswill typically contain imagery or locations that parallel those of areal urban community.

See; area .

Troll, n., v.

(1) Race of mythical creature with hideous apperance thought tolive beneath bridges.

(2) Commonly, one who seeks to provoke others to anger for sport.

(3) Attempt to gain players for one's own MUD by spamming ortells

Trigger, n.

(1) Client feature that allows a user to automaticallysend commands to a MUD in response to events. Often illegal oncombat oriented games because it gives those with it alarge advantage.

(2) Any action that iniates an automated game response. Most often theterm is used in conjunction with unusual or special responses.

Twink, n.

Player who isonly interested in scoring points.Typically twinks abuse channels ,do not follow rules and communicate little using terse idiomsconsisting entirely of acronyms. They will do anythingto obtain the best eq , stats , ac , etc. Obnoxiousand boastful. Probably exclusive to combat games.Example 1: Psi's who don't actually knowhow to get around a zone , they just portal intothe mobs with the best xp .Example 2: Newbie who expects adepts or other higher level playersto give him the best eq and to take him on xp runs so that hecan level quickly with little work.

See: powergamer , spam .

Twinkie, n.

Not the kind of pastry snack you'll find in a storeTwinkies are things too good to be true; things that tend tounbalance the game system .Popular with players ,despised by administrators .Examples: a magic sword that does more than twice the damage ofwhat should be the most powerful sword in the game, an easy tokill NPC that provides lots of EXP (experience points) .

Type, n.

(1) Group of MUDs or a unique MUD sharing a common ancestory butdistinguished from the original MUD.

(2) Programmer lingo for the classification of avariable . Note: if you have to ask you probably aren'ta programmer.

U

U, pro. You. Shortform often used by young mudders .

Universe, n.

All objects found within a game DB . are within the universe ofthat game.

Universe Rules, n.

Usually refers to the internal logic that governs the interaction ofall objects within a particular MUD .

Unlock, v.

(1) To unseal with a key . Often a necessary step before a lockedcontainer type item or door may be opened. Sometimesautomatic (unseen by the player) provided the character has the properkey.

(2) To return file access to a state that permits access by others.

See: lock .

Uptime, n., v.

(1) How long a game has been continuously running. This is theamount of time that has passed since the last reboot .

(2) Command that reports the uptime.

User, n, adj.

(1) Person authorized to access the system . The term does notdistinguish if one is a player , builder or administrator .

(2) Something associated with (or "owned" by) a person authorized toaccess the system . Example: "user account."

Users, v.

Wizard commanddisplays the names of all users currently connected to the game.

See: who , wizlist .

V

Value, n.,v.

(1) The declared worth of an item in money .

See: economy , inflation .

(2) Same as property .

Vanilla, n.

(1) Original, virgin, untouched.

(2) Version of something which is so close to the original as to beconsidered unaltered.

Variable, n.

Entity to hold information. Often changing.Usually a small member of the data representing someobject .For example if your game character has an age (like "22 years" orthe length of time you've been playing) this is represented in thegame database by at least one variable.

See: property .

Verb, n.

Command word that can be used by players .

Verbose, n., v.

Mode of room reviewing that displays the long description.

Alternative command to the toggle type brief 3 .

See: brief .

Virtual, n.

(1) Artifical. Not real but life like. Everythingwithin a MUD may exist within a virtual reality.This reality is defined by the universe rules .

(2) Among MUD programmers mostoften used to describe methods of representing objects within agame in away not dependent on the most commonly used rules of the game which isto say in short that non-standard methods are employed in the processof creating and representing the object to the player. For instance ifrooms normally require seperate data files or associated sub-programsa virtual cluster of rooms might have only one associated sub-programand data file. The end player will generally not percieve any differencebetween the virtual and non-virtual objects presented to her.

(3) Way to conceptualize data .

Virtual Reality, n.

Also VR.

Same as virtual (1) .

Visible, n., adj.

Conceptually, virtual environments may contain items not visibleto the viewer depending on external factors such as light ,special circumstances such as spells of invisibility (magical) orinternal conditions like being blind .administrators and builders have theability to break these artifical limits.

Void, n.

(1) Room set aside for lost objects .

(2) A type of pointer .

VR, n. [Comp. of Virtual Reality.]

Same as virtual (1) .

Vryce, n. Used to say that someone is breaking the license agremeent of the codebase that they are using.Example: He's doing a Vryce.

W

Wait, n.

Same as lockout .

Warrior, n.

Class of those who are professional soldiers. Typicallysoldiers of fortune or the combat MUD equivalent, EXP .Generally very hardy characters.

See tank .

Wear, v.

command changes the placement of an item of clothing from unused to using.Usually a toggle type command.

See: equip .

Weather, n.

Simulated atmospheric conditions generated by the game itself.These may affect aspects of game play but are typicallysimple messages depicting reports of changingconditions. Example report: "It starts to rain."Sometimes specific to a particular area but also may bepresented on a gamewide basis.Messages identical to weather may also be generated by players usingecho like commands though some games make it easy to tellthe difference by prepending a character like ":" tomessages sent by other players and not those sent by the game.

See: season .

Whisper, v.

Command on many games allowing the actor to send a private message to the named player . Usual form: whisper [to] [message]. Example:whisper joe Hello! -- Would make Joe See: "[your name] whispersHello!"

Who, v.

Command lists all presently connected players visible to yourcharacter. Showsidle times , pretitles , titles if applicable.

See: users , wizlist .

Wield, v.

Command to prepare a weapon for use.

See: equip .

Wizard, n.

One who has greater responsibility and more powerful powers then thecommon player. A wizard may build areas and create new objects forplayers to interact with. The definition of who is a wizard varieswidely from game to game.

See: administrator ,builder , domain , god , root .

Wizi, v. [Comp. of Wizard Invisibility.]

Command makes a wizard invisible tomortals . Some MUDs allow the user to set alevel so that only players below that level cannot seethe wizard.

See: wizard .

Wizlist, n., v.

List of all active and empowered wizards .

See: who , users .

Wizlock, n., v.

(1) Condition of a game being closed to entry by all users save those defined as wizards . Often implemented during thepre public phase of game construction.

(2) Command to affect (1).

See: newlock .

WoD, n. [Comp. of World of Darkness.]

Series of roleplaying games by White Wolf which hasinspired a rather large number of MUSHes.

World, n.

(1) Game Universe .

(2) One or more adjacent and distinct areas classified by descriptionand or means of entry as a unique realm consisting of areas.

See: areas , universe .

WoT, n. [Comp. of Wheel of Time.]

Wheel of Time. A series of booksby Robert Jordan which has inspired a rather large number of MUDs.

WTF, interj. [Comp. of What the F*.]

Expressing anger, disbelief or surprise. Often used on its ownwith several question marks: "WTF???"

X

X, n.

(1) Something unknown. As in "Planet X".

(2) Horizontal range reference used incoordinate system based locations .

See: Y , Z .

XdY, n.

Also XdY+Z.

Holdover from D&D ® . Used to indicate somerandomized variable .The Y indicates the size ofthe die (a d6 is a standard 6-sided die). The Xis the number of those die to throw. The Z isa constant amount to add to the resulting throw.e.g. 2d4+1 indicates rolling an 4-sided dietwice (summing each roll ), and adding 1 tothe result yielding some random numberbetween 3 (X+Z) and 9 (X*Y+Z).

See: dice , roll .

XP, n. [Comp. of Experience Point(s).]

Also Xp.

Same as Exp .

XY, n.

(1) Why. Shortform used by young mudders .

Same as Y .

Y

Y, n.

Horizontal range reference in coordinate system based locations .

Z

Z, n.

Vertical range reference in coordinate system based locations .

See: X , Y .

Zone, n.

(DIKU) Same as area .

Zap, v.

Same as nuke .