A

Acceptor Points:

It's promised that at a future date All Will Be Explained, but for now they are just fairly mysterious points handed out by Psy-Kosh during certain conversations in the group.

Actions:

They say that Actions speak louder than words, and Alfandra is full of them. If you posted a mixture of speech, actions and explanation without seperating them in some way (which a few draks do) it would be very confusing to the reader. Most people get around this by using an indicator (either *stars*, or <triangles> or [brackets]) around their actions, and leaving the rest of their speech free. And there are certain actions, such as *huggles* which ALWAYS have the stars around them.

The other way to do it (usually used for long and/or in-character story postings) is to put talking marks around your speech, and leave everything else free.

Thus a typical (brief) posting might look as follows:

a) [Laurealanthasala appears to greet the Newbie] Hello there! It's traditional to greet new draks with food, so I hope you like chocolate! [hands over a bar of chocolate. *welcomehuggles*]

OR

b) Laurealanthasala appears to greet the Newbie. "Hello there! It's traditional to greet new draks with food, so I hope you like chocolate!" She hands over a bar of chocolate. *welcomehuggles.*

AFD/Alfandra/Alfandria/Altfandra:

All fairly common names for the computerised realm where we meet. Strictly speaking, Alfandria is the MUCK and Alfandra is the NG, while #AFD is the IRC channel. It's not enforced though...

Avet:

A Nirg in Rot-13 (discovered by ? but yet to catch on in the general population)

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B

Beable:

Only Fulgore truly knows what this is. There's been much speculation since he first introduced the term, but all he's saying is it's the 'opposite of fish.' One faction, led by Wodash, believes a beable to be a kind of soap bubble, but a second, led by Fang Tsu prefers to think of them as chocolate-covered cherries.

C

Chocolate/Choccie/Choklit:

Ambrosia of the Gods. There are a number of dragons (including me) who live almost purely on the stuff.

Chocolate Points (CPs):

Large brown digits, made of course of Chocolate!

In short, the reward for favourable mention of chocolate in the NG. In long, CPs were invented by Wodash the Faintly Luminescent, and Chocolate Fever ensued as Chocolate-hungry Draks vied to collect them. The Competition rapidly rose to such a degree that there was controversy over how/when/whether to award them, or whether the group needed such a thing at all. The general decision was in favour of the Awards (and against the spoilsports), but the Chocolate Point fever died down considerably from its height, and CPs are now awarded quietly  to those who make favourable and original mention of the cocoa'd ambrosia in their postings. Once awarded, CPs can be eaten, hoarded, added to sigs or otherwise disposed of as the bearer desires.

Viriatha has a Chocolate Points Page with more information.

Current CP Givers:

• Wodash the Faintly Luminescent
• Viriatha: High Priestess of Wodash the Faintly Luminescent
• Karenji: juniorassistantdeputychocolatepointgiverpro-tem

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D

Dragon Code:

Not all dragons are alike, and not all Alfandrans are dragons! To make it easier to tell who's what, the Dragon Code was invented. It uses letters to describe typical draconic characteristics, and lets you post a complete self-description in approx. two lines instead of two pages. More Info here, and on Wyrm's Dragon Code Page.

Dragon Smileys:

Most Dragons are very friendly creatures, and smile, grin, wink and laugh a lot as they post. The main difference between most Dragon Smileys and a 'normal' smiley is the presence of nostrils and/or draconic eyebrow ridges.

A Happy Dragon:  :-8)

A Winking Dragon: ;-8)

A Sad Dragon: :-8(

A Dragon Poking their tongue out (can't be read by all newsreaders because it uses a high ascii character (alt-0990) : :-8Þ

A Dragon with eyebrows }:-8)

A left-handed Dragon Smiley (not as common) (8-:

Alternative Dragon Poking out tongue (for those who don't want to use the high ascii) :-8P

Draks/Dwaggies:

Friendly terms for Dragons. Draks is often used to generalise eg. 'All you draks out there', while Dwaggie is more often used one-on-one  eg.'X gives Y a *dwaggiehuggle*'

[DU]:

Dragon University. A place where Draks can go to take lessons in magick, and to practice their skills in a safe, supervised environment. The latest set of Magick lessons were being taught by Q, who has since been forced to abandon the Dominance in favour of RL...

 

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E

Eh-Sayers, the:

A group of Dragons who say 'Eh' in the Newsgroup at least once, and have claimed membership in the Eh-sayers society. But there's more to it than that - Tamf has this to say:

"Fulgore started it all,  and then i followed up. the story of 'eh in The Nest Of Eh-sayers goes like this:

Fulgore appeared here with a very interesting .sig. first of all it said that he was STILLSPLUTABLE, which of course resulted in many nice pies for him to collect. from his face, mostly. the other thing was "i protect all who say 'eh". i saw it, said 'eh, and came under his protection. now, who wouldn't want to be under the protection of Fulgore? so it spread.

you can read more about it all in Fulgore's infrequently asked questions at his homepage, <http://zap.to/fulgore>. read and be wise!"

While Prismwind adds the following:

I think it is someone who not only says "Eh", but has a certain... I don't know what to call it, attitude, personality, or whatever, but basically, they are the kind of person whose mind continually comes up with ideas and questions that invite the word "Eh" to be said. They also occasionally say it themselves, not just so they can be an Eh-Sayer, but because that is the first word that came to their mind to express themselves.

Ether Monsters:

Solitary creatures, the Ether Monsters roam the void between your computer and everyone else's, living off stray Newsgroup posts and E-mail messages they seperate from the herd. Sometimes postings escape their clutches after hours or days, but sometimes they are never seen again...

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F

Food Fights:

Another common event, usually announced by the posting of an invitation, such as the long-running, 'A Foodfight Waiting to Happen'. By tradition, Newbies are immune to Food Fighting (unless they start proceedings) as are beings who haven't posted into an established Food Fighting (or FF) thread. Of course there are exceptions, but these are more often a case of random *splutting*

Fruiting Day:

The Anniversary of your arrival in Alfandra. On your first Fruiting Day, you change from a Young Nut(te) to being a Fruite. A Fruite is someone who knows a lot of the Draks, and who is very comfortable with AFD, knowing how everything works. It doesn't necessarily take a year to Fruit. Some people are early fruiters, and a few are 'insta-fruiters', who seem to arrive and fit in as if they've always been Here.

G

Goodies:

Just what it seems - very common in Alfandra, especially being given to Newbies or to celebrate hatching days etc.

Greeting Gifts:

New Dragons are traditionally greeted at the door with food, often chocolate. Accept these politely, and return the favour when next you meet a Newbie.

 
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H

Hatching Day:

Your Hatching Day is the anniversary of your hatching/birth. This can be either your mundane birthday, or the day you realised your draconicity (if that was at a different time to your arrival in Alfandra, which is your Fruiting Day.)

Here:

Another common name for Alfandra. Differentiated from the general everyday 'here' by use of a capital letter.

Huggle:

A friendly/comforting hug administered to those in need. Huggles come in many variations, including *Welcomehuggles*, *ComfortingHuggles*, *BirthdayHuggles*, *hopeyou'refeelingbetterhuggles*, *snugglyhuggles* etc.

I

Insta-fruite:

One of those blessed beings who must have been an Alfandran in a previous life, because they seem to arrive knowing all the ropes. Few beings actually claim insta-fruitehood, but sometimes it's a case of 'Just Add AFD'!

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J

K

L

M

MEEP:

a)the sound emitted by a dragonlet in distress or trying to get attention (usually written *meep*)

b) Contributed  by G'leth: a sound sorta like a chirp, that conveys various meanings such as questioning, hurt, surprise, happiness etc...

c) An important event/excuse for a party! Hatching Days/Fruiting Days/other celebratory occasions are often marked by MEEPING! More information can be found at <http://fly.to/meep>

N

Names:

Alfandra is  land of Many, many names. Just a few are listed in this Dictionary, because there are too many of them! Weyrlady is keeping track on her website here, and the count is currently 50 and rising...

NHE:

Non Happy Experience.  Something we'd all rather not have, and which raises a need for comprehensive *huggles*

Nirg:

Some time ago, Tamfiriis and Parasite were discussing language, and between them they invented 'naivanidnans'. Nirg is the most popular term in this language (probably because it's the only one PRONOUNCABLE!) and it's a sly sort of grin. Generally used to say 'I know something you don't know...'

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O

Olde Fruit:

Someone who is 'ripe' to AFD, usually meaning they've been around for one year or more (generally more. There are less olde fruites around than you might imagine...)

Olde Whine:

Someone who is past ripe, they are old, but don't post as much anymore. An Olde Fruite who has matured further. There are even less Olde Whines than Olde Fruites... An Olde Whine who has gone sour becomes Vinegar :-8)

Orphan Re's:

When someone replies to another person's post, their newsreader automatically retains the subject header, putting a 're' at the front. If the post being replied to is more than a few weeks old, it's probably disappeared from at least some people's Servers. The reply still shows up on their computer, but rather than being neatly threaded, it's all on its lonesome. After recent floods of postings by Rai and myself, the levels of Orphans rose to such a level that there was great concern over their fate, and Tanith proposed opening an official Orphanage to take these poor lost souls in.

P

PounceHuggle:

A surprise Huggle, and one of Dalcya's specialties (but she's not the only one!)

 

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Q

R

Raifloods:

Rai (or Samurai) is a fairly prominent Dragon in Alfandra. He's prone to short absences from the group, leading to catch-up attempts and frequent excursions into the dust of the vaults. The resulting posting level is much higher than normal, and Draks have been known to drown in the flood of Orphan Re's. Raifloods are usually announced in advance, and life preservers handed out to those in need.

S

[SNIP]:

A common sight in postings to AFD, or to any newsgroup for that matter. Used to indicate that a part of the previous message has been snipped away for purposes of consciseness. Often other words or phrases are used instead of [SNIP], eg. [TIMBER!] Generally written in capitals, and ALWAYS surrounded by brackets.

Snirg:

The same as 'Nirg', only with an 'S.' A bit sneakier :-)

Sparkly:

According to Fulgore:

Just like it sounds, it's a little spar(NOSPARK)klie that runs around giving off light. However upon saying their name they get a borgish "You will be assimilated mortal" atitude (Fulgore notices they didn't fall for the (NOSPARK) bit and are after him!)

Tiny little pretty lights. Singly, cute, but they travel in flocks, sparklifiying everything they touch. For some reason, many Draks don't like being sparklified, and resist the process vigorously.

Some Sparkles tickle as well! There's a picture of a Sparkly Cloud here

Splut:

Watch out for these! *Spluts* (generally written surrounded by the stars) are common, and can be the signal for the start of hostilities in a Food Fight, or a random act between friends. One of the unwritten rules of Alfandra is that Newbies are immune to *Splutting*, at least for the duration of their Welcoming Thread.

The Original *Splutting* Rule is: Do not Splut the uninvolved.  Some don't like food fights and it used to be bad manners to splut newbies.  Splut only when splutted or in designated splutting areas (indeed, some would prefer splutting to exist only in said designated areas).

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T

Tags:

Alfandrans tend not to use too many of these. You'll see an occasional [OT], or [DU], or occasionally [RP] There have been many others used in the past, but they've gradually died away. For an explanation of the Tags, visit Weyrlady's Page

U

V

Vaults, the:

An extensive network of catacombs beneath Alfrandria where all old posts may be found... dragons have been known to delve into the upper levels in search of missed posts. Excursions into the Vaults are fairly common after short-to-middling-term absences from the group, but after Long Term disappearances they are generally impractical. If you venture into the Vaults, beware of Dust, cobwebs, and Raifloods.

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W

Welcome Post/Thread:

The Post (and resulting thread) that you make when you first become brave enough (or foolhardy enough) to step out of the Shadows of Lurkhood and take part in Alfandran life. Most Alfandrans are keen to make Newbies feel at home, so you don't need to worry about being Flamed or ignored! Just smile and accept the food :-8)

X

Y

Young Nut:

Someone who's been Alfandra for less than twelve months. As Fulgore puts it ' you have a blazing sticker that says "ImaNewbie" on your forehead.' But don't worry, a large proportion of the population is just as nuts as you :-8)

Z