Avatar/Av: Your character within Second Life, as they are referred to within the game itself. Also see 'Resident.' As with many things regarding Second Life, the term was originally inspired by the 1992 Neal Stephenson novel Snow Crash.
Av Sex: Sexual activity within Second Life that relies primarily on visual animation. This is considered among most to be a different form of sex than 'cyberchat,' an activity that was around long before Second Life. Av-sex is a very popular pastime, and an entire cottage industry exists to service its participants.
Bling Whore: A person who wears an unusually high number of scripted objects as clothing, or items that contain a high prim count. Such items can profoundly slow the refresh rate at a particular piece of land, which is why such people are seen by many others in a negative way; also, the flashy animations associated with such items are often seen by others as gaudy.
Furry: A person who chooses to represent themselves as an animal within Second Life. Many who choose to be furries do so for sexual reasons; although as the total number of players in Second Life continues to grow, this community is diversifying as well. Many furries live together as groups, renting a communal island (or 'sim') in which to carry out their roleplaying 24 hours a day. Some furries interact with humans, others do not; some of these communities are open for human visits, others not. Unlike real life, where fans must often resort to wearing plush costumes, in Second Life an animal representation is exactly as real and immersive as a human's; furries there take themselves much more seriously than many in real life do, and consider the roleplay more of a lifestyle than associated with a certain event.
Gor/Gorean: A specific, very popular type of roleplaying within Second Life, based loosely on a series of fantasy novels written by John Norman. The appeal for most is within the structure of power exchange within this complex hierarchial society; not only are most women out-and-out owned by men within this otherworldly race, but an elaborate set of rituals exist for these castes to communicate with each other. It has become a favorite for many within the real-world communities of Bondage, Domination, Submission and Mascochism (BDSM), because of the similarities of the exchange of power, and the intensity of the immersive environment. As can be imagined, Gorean communities are also often the scenes of intense in-fighting, especially among those who are known for starting 'flame wars' within the traditional world of websites and bulletin boards. Over a dozen separate Gorean communities exist within Second Life; many operate their own private islands (known as 'sims'), with special rules and clothing for visitors, where roleplaying can be continued on a 24-hour basis. The rules and story behind Gor are fascinating but exhaustive; those who are interested might best start at the official Wikipedia entry on the subject.
The Grid: The virtual universe which comprises Second Life; see their main website for a real-time navigable map. Also known as the 'Metaverse,' the 'Universe,' and by other names.
Gridhopper: The virtual equivalent of a clubhopper. Unencumbered by physics or finances, an efficient gridhopper can change both locations and outfits five to ten times in a single evening, making themselves hyper-appropriate for each situation they find themselves. Many young people play Second Life specifically for the gridhopping aspects.
Griefer: Someone who is playing Second Life specifically to cause trouble for others. Griefers come in a variety of flavors, including traditional spammers, bullies (those who push others off cliffs, for example), outers (those who seek and publish other players' real-life information), even organized bands of computer hackers. There are also groups of vigilantes who combat such griefers, often IT and security specialists in real life; one of the more famous ones is known as the Green Lanterns.
L$: Short for 'Linden Dollars' (or simply 'Lindens'), the official in-game currency of Second Life. Lindens are of this date one of the only successful examples in the world of an online "micropayment" system, as first proposed by cartoonist Scott McCloud in the 1990s; a way for creators and fans to exchange just the tiniest amounts of money online (say for example, ten cents for one comic strip, McCloud's original interest), without either party incurring a heavy transaction fee from a credit-card company for doing so. How SL does it is by forcing players to purchase Linden dollars in bulk, through an in-game "currency exchange" linked to a credit card or Paypal account; and with one US dollar (0.6 pounds, 0,80 euros) currently equaling L$300, even a few bucks will get you a plethora of in-game cash, all for a small one-time transaction fee. This then allows creators there to sell their wares for sometimes ridiculously small amounts of money (5 cents for a t-shirt, 25 cents for a vehicle) with no transaction fee applied at all, simply by residents exchanging Lindens within the game; whenever a business owner has accumulated a significant amount of RL money, they can then "cash out" through the same currency exchange, and receive either a payment on their RL credit card or a RL money order in the mail through Paypal.
Lag: The rate of refresh for your virtual view, based on the bandwidth being used on a particular parcel of land. This is a primary concern for almost all players of Second Life at one time or another, especially at popular events; areas reaching their maximum amount of simultaneous players are often referred to as "Lag Hell."
Lurker: Someone physically in your presence within Second Life, but not moving or saying anything. Often frustrating, because of not knowing if that person is away from their computer in real life or not.
MMO/MMOG/MMORPG: Similar yet distinct terms, all of them relating to the technical environment which allows a project like Second Life to happen. MMO refers to a Massively Multiplayer Online environment; because this term has few distinctions, it can refer to anything from a console game to a group chat session. The "G" in MMOG stands specifically for games; although again, can refer to anything from a first-person-shooter game to a mass strategy one. The "RP" in MMORPG, then, stands for roleplaying; that term specifically refers to such "immersive" 3D roleplaying environments as Second Life, World of Warcraft and more. The terms derive from the 1980s gaming community, which often used to refer to online experiments in terms of MMOs, RPGs, MUDs (Multi-User Dungeons) and MOOs (MUD object orientations).
Prims: The basic building blocks within Second Life; a wall, a sphere, a cone, etc. Prims are both manipulated and connected, to make virtually all the content seen in the game -- from hair styles to buildings, vehicles to weapons. To regulate bandwidth efficiently, only a certain amount of prims are allowed on a piece of land at any time; building inventive things using the least amount of prims possible is considered an impressive skill among fellow players.
RL: Real life; what happens beyond the world of the grid.
RP: Roleplaying, a primary reason for many in Second Life to be there in the first place. The appeal of Second Life to many is the freakishly immersive environment it provides, while still within the framework of anonymity and fantasy; many come specifically to lead a life very different than the one they lead in the real world. There are different subjects for such roleplaying in Second Life that have become popular over the years, including animals, vampires, and a type of superhuman warrior known as Goreans; and there are different themes that have become popular among many as well, including abduction fantasies, the playing-out of fairytales, elaborate rituals regarding social hierarchy, and more. RP communities will often own an entire private island (also known as a 'sim'), where an active, intense style of roleplay and character development can be done 24 hours a day, within a completely immersive communal environment.
Resident/Rezzie: Your character within Second Life, as they are referred to within the game itself. Also see 'Avatar.'
Rezzing: The process of your computer displaying the view in Second LIfe, after first arriving at a location; this process can take from a few seconds to five or more minutes, depending on the quality of your computer. The word itself is a reference from the 1982 Disney movie Tron; it's also commonly known as 'rendering.'
SL: Second Life.