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Below is a glossary of common used terms along with their meanings. If you notice any missing terms of discrepancies in descriptions, feel free to contribute to the list!

A voice in your head... - A subtle, in-character message from an admin. Generally, you should follow or do the advice or commands it gives.

A voice that seems to echo around the room... - A message from someone with the 'remote talking' superpower from Genetics.

Admin - Short for Administrator. They have (usually) red-orange coloured OOC text and enforce server rules and behaviour. They have powers designed to keep the game fun for everyone. Listening to them is a good idea.

Adminhelp - A command which lets you send a message to the admins. Use this if you think someone is griefing. It should be noted that even when no admins are online, any messages sent in adminhelp are logged and also sent to a place offline admins can read.

AI - The Artificial Intelligence, the station's computer which can access machinery on the station. A job that can be played.

Analyzer - Most often refers to Health Analyzers, but can also refer to Atmospheric Analyzer, Botany's Plant Analyzers, the Geneticist's Genetic analyzer or Research & Development's Destructive analyzer or the portable Analyser used to defuse anomalies.

Antag Token - Refers to a token granted to players that allows them to choose a non-station threatening antagonist role pending administrator approval (with deference given to the round type). These tokens are only given out by administrators under extenuating circumstances, and are in no way, shape, or form guaranteed to a player. Antag tokens are strictly single use.

Atmos - Either an Atmospheric Technician (which are also commonly known as Atmos Techs or initially ingame as Life Support Specialists) or the Atmospherics area itself which deals with the air supply.

Beepsky/Officer Beepsky - A securitron that starts in Security. Will chase, stun, and handcuff anyone set to be arrested in the security records.

Blob - Can refer to the Blob game mode, or the Blob that spawns in Blob mode and sometimes in random events. A big jelly thing which spreads quickly, consumes oxygen to grow, causes enormous damage, hurts people, and has variable weaknesses and strengths.

Bolt/Bolted - A feature of Airlocks. When the bolts are dropped, the door cannot move from its current position, be it open or closed. They can be lifted by the AI or hacking the airlock.

Bridge - The Bridge is the command center of the station. Found in the center of the station.

Brig - An area of the station with cells, where people are held by Security.

BYOND - The platform SS13 was coded on. You need it to be able to play the game.

C-Ling - OOC slang for Changeling.

Cap/Capn'/Capt. - A slang of Captain, a high-ranking crewmember who takes charge of the entire station. May be in a form of a rank on some Response Team Leaders.

CC - See Centcom.

CE - Short for Chief Engineer, the person who is in charge of the Engineering department.

Carp - Usually in a form of Space Carp that are spawned in random events, Holocarp that are spawned in dangerous Holodeck simulations, and more. Also sometimes refers to Sleeping Carp, a deadly martial art used by the Syndicate.

Centcom - Short for "Central Command", the administration branch of Nanotrasen which runs the station. Will periodically send messages to the station which are usually of debatable usefulness. Also refers to the area the Emergency Escape Shuttle goes to when it leaves.

CMO - Short for Chief Medical Officer, a crewmember who oversees the Medbay department if something goes awry.

Clone Memory Disorder - See Clone_Memory_Disorder

CO2 - Carbon Dioxide, an invisible gas kept in black canisters. Will knock you out and suffocate you. A small trace amount of it makes up breathable air.

Crew - Everyone listed on the Crew Manifest. Hired by Nanotrasen to do their jobs.

Cryo - Either referring to the big green glass things in Medbay, which putting dying people in here can save them or putting crewmembers who are either SSD or for characters in which the player needs to log out. Or the Cryogenic Chambers near Dorms, where you can either go to sleep or put SSD crewmembers in there, after 10 minutes without waking up, they'll proceed to the Cryogenic Storage, in which they're removed from the round.

Cult - Refers to the Cult game mode. People who believe in the dark gods are known as Cultists. Or a gimmick by the Chaplain.

Deadchat - Also known as Ghost chat. A chat channel dead players speak on using the say command. Can only be seen by other ghosted players.

Deathsquad - A group of Death Commandos sent by Central Command to exterminate the threat. That includes everyone.

Deathsquid - Usually just a slang term for Deathsquad. Rarely used to refer to the Death Squid, a very large and deadly squid.

Disk - The Nuclear Authentication Disk, used to detonate a Nuclear Fission Device with either nuclear codes provided by Central Command or in Nuclear Emergency Gamemode via the Syndicate.

Doc - A Medical Doctor.

Electrify - Another feature of airlocks. If an electrified airlock is touched by someone without insulated gloves, they will receive an electric shock, taking damage and being stunned for some time. The AI and Airlock hacking can activate or disable electrification. Some grilles are also electrified - cutting a cable without wearing insulated gloves will also electrify you.

Emag - Another name for the Cryptographic Sequencer traitor item, which forces doors open or does other things like letting you order more traitor items.

EMP - Stands for Electromagnetic Pulse, an energy wave that effects nearby objects and mobs by disabling them. This is an effective way to kill various synthetics like AIs, Cyborgs, IPCs and so on. It is commonly caused by an Ion Rifle projectile, an EMP Grenade traitor item, or a Dissonant Shriek changeling power.

Engine - The large area in the south of the ship which should contain a Singularity, the Supermatter or the Tesla.

ERT - Stands for Emergency Response Team or simply Response Team. An elite group of highly-trained units sent out by Central Command to deal with the situation from the NSS Cyberiad via distress call.

EVA - A room just southwest of the Security wing where space suits, hardsuits and jetpacks are kept. Stands for Extra-Vehicular Activity.

Ghost - Refers to a command you can type when you have died to become a ghost, and to the actual Ghost themselves. See the page for more details about that role. Remember that ghosting while alive will have a special message when examined (a crewmember is totally catatonic, they'll not be waking up soon), but this can also break rules! Especially if you are playing as a head of staff.

Gib - The bloody, torn apart remnants of a former living being. These are usually non-revivable by all means. Created by people, livestock, monkeys, and cyborgs exploding. This is one way of killing a Changeling for good.

Gimmick - Can refer to a player gimmick or a gimmick round. Basically a round or player which plays with a certain "theme". Can be amusing once or twice but doing this regularly runs it into the ground very quickly.

Greytide - "Greytide" or "Greyshirts" is a term used to describe male humans, bald, with black eyes, and the appearance of a 30 year old.

The appearance here is the default character. People with this appearance generally haven't set up their character because they are brand new to the game, or just don't care. Many griefers have this appearance, but not exclusively at all. Some people are just newbies, so don't treat them all badly!

Greytiding is also a term used for when seasoned players intentionally come close to breaking the rules, go around acting like a new player, and generally cause mischief for no reason in particular.

Griefing - (AKA Griefing/Griefer)

Griefing is the act of getting enjoyment out of ruining the game for others. Examples include killing without good reason, randomly starting fires, dismantling the hull, acting insane to the extent that it negatively affects others, etc. Note that it can be easy to confuse Syndicate operatives or the Traitor with griefers. Griefing is a bannable offense and more rigorously enforced on Paradise and Heavy-RP servers than on most other SS13 Medium-RP to Low-RP servers.

Hacking - The act of breaking the security measures on equipment such as Airlocks or APCs by illicit means.

Headset - Normally refers to the headset on your head which can be used with the command 'say ";Hello everyone!"', for example. Can also refer to station bounced radios and intercoms. Shows up as green text with a symbol and frequency appended to it. Additional department-specific radios also exist. To use the equipped department radio's default department frequency use 'say ":h Hello Department!"'. (See Guide for beginners for details or how to use the radio when it has multiple department frequencies available)

HoP - Head of Personnel. The person assigning jobs to assistants and the one who organizes the Services/Supply department. Bad HoPs are the ones who assign jobs, but usually ends up giving himself Captain-level all-access, ignoring his/her job, and acting like Security.

HoS - Head of Security. Runs and organized the Security department.

Hulk - Used to refer to the superpower or a person in possession of it. People with the Hulk gene turn green and become super strong, being able to punch through walls, windows, and other fixtures. Hurts like hell if one hits you.

IC in OOC - The act of describing anything happening in the game over the OOC channel. The rule of thumb is if a person not involved in the incident or not observing the game can still tell what's going on, it's IC in OOC. Excessive use usually results in a ban. (See the Rules page for details)

Icky Oocky - The same as the aforementioned entry, this simply means IC in OOC. There are various forms in which this phrase appears such as "Icky in my Oocky", "Ick Oock", and "Icky Ocky".

In Character - In Character knowledge/chat, often abbreviated to IC, is what you as the character know or say. It's the opposite of out of character. For example, a Chemist would know how to make thermite, but not how to start the engine. IC knowledge often differs from Out of Character knowledge. See also: Roleplaying.

Internals - Usually an oxygen tank of some sort and a gasmask. Basically any worn item that lets you breathe when you otherwise can't.

Lag - Concept common to almost all online gaming. Not worth explaining in depth here - basically it's the server (server-side lag) or your own computer (client-side lag) being slow and causing gaps between you doing stuff and it actually happening to grow.

Law/Laws - Rules which the AI and Cyborgs must follow. Are somewhat open to interpretation by the player, but the majority consensus and admin rulings are what really count. May be modified or changed at an AI Upload Terminal using various modules, wiped back to the basics using the Reset Module, or purged entirely with the Purge Module. Note that core modules cannot be removed by the standard reset module. Sometimes, this may refer to Space Law.

Ling/Cling - Refers to a Changeling, a type of identity-stealing antagonist. Sometimes erroneously used to refer to Shadowlings.

Lockdown - Refers to individual, local fire alarms locking down areas, places with shutters, or the bolting down of all doors to an area.

Mass Driver - The computer or switch operated devices found in Toxins and the Chapel. Any objects on them when they are activated will be thrown forward at high speed, either into the bomb testing area (Toxins) or space (Chapel).

Metagaming - Metagaming is the act of using out of character knowledge to further your own player in the game, and is the opposite of Roleplaying. An example of metagaming would be calling the emergency shuttle at the beginning of a round to try to find out what round it is, or by doing things your character should not know how to do. This is a bannable offence.

Med - Short for Medical or Medbay.

Mod - Short for Moderators, who used to help deal with various issues, but were ranked lower than admins. They were merged into the Trial Admin role.

Notes - A command which displays "Notes" kept in your characters memory, which you add with the "add note" command. Some notes are automatically added depending on the circumstances, such as Revolutionaries having the list of Rev members memorized, traitors having their radio frequency memorized, and Syndicate Nuke Operative's leaders having the nuclear bomb code memorized.

N2 - Nitrogen, an invisible gas kept in red canisters. Mostly useless, but makes up a certain percentage of breathable air. The Vox is required to breathe in N2 in order to survive. Not to be confused with chemical reagent nitrogen from chemistry.

N2O - Nitrous Oxide, also known as laughing gas or anesthetic. White gas kept in red canisters with a white stripe, that will knock you out and suffocate you at high enough concentrations, very lethal unless a third-party treats them.

NT/Nanotrasen - Nanotrasen is one of the largest corporations in all of known space. You work for Nanotrasen as an employee. Unless you don't.

Nuke - Can refer to either the Nuclear Emergency game mode (also known as Syndicate), or the Nuclear Fission Explosive used in said mode.

Nukie/Nuke Ops - A popular term for Nuclear Agent role or the gamemode featuring Nuclear Operatives throughout the Paradise Station and the SS13 community.

O2 - Oxygen. Invisible gas usually kept in blue and white canisters. Vital for reasons that you should already know, but deadly for reasons you may not (IE: fires).

Out of Character - Out of character knowledge/chat, often abbreviated to OOC, is what you as the user know or say. The opposite of in character. For example, you might play a chemist, but know how to start the engine. Discussing in character things in OOC chat or using OOC knowledge to get the jump on someone are examples of metagaming. OOC knowledge often differs from In Character knowledge.

OOC in IC - The inverse of the much more common 'IC in OOC'. Whenever a game mechanic, metafeature, or player-to-player conversation is referenced in the say or emote channels. Or using ((brackets)) to talk to players locally OOC. Not recommended.

pAI - Personal Artificial Intelligence or Personal AI. A role that Ghosts can play as.

PDA - Personal Device Assistant. Handheld devices that act as pagers, flashlights and other useful functions depending on what cartridge is inserted, you start with one.

Plasma - Purple gas kept in orange canisters. Highly toxic and flammable. Research into uses and properties of plasma is the station's prime reason for existence. It is primarily utilized in FTL drives. Plasmaman require plasma, otherwise they'll be consumed by fire.

RCD - Rapid Construction Device. A piece of equipment which can quickly make and break floors, walls, and airlocks. Can't break reinforced walls.

RD - Research Director. The job used to be called Head of Research. They are the ones who oversees the Research department and make sure that Scientists don't leak plasma everywhere.

Records - Comes in two flavors, Security and Medical, both accessible from terminals with red or white screens, respectively. Can be set during character setup, and both contain other useful information such as DNA, fingerprint information, and Security Records that can be used to have Beepsky arrest people on sight.

Report/Centcom Report/Classified Report - A document printed out from communications consoles at the start of the round. This lists out the station projects that are needed to be built in the current shift. This may also refer to other reports that may happen during some rounds.

Resurrection - See Revive.

Rev - Could refer either to the game mode Revolution, or a member of the Revolution in said game mode. It may also occur as a short form of Revenant.

Revive - Bringing someone back to life after they have died through either Genetics, Hydroponics, Medbay, Robotics, or admin powers.

Robust/Robusting - The game's ROBUST COMBAT SYSTEM. To robust someone is to fight someone or at least win in a fight. To be robust means you often win fights. Fighting without IC reason is considered griefing.

Roleplaying - Roleplaying is the act of pretending to be your character, and is the opposite of Metagaming. This entails acting as if the events on the station are real.

See also: A Crash Course In Roleplaying

S-Ling - OOC slang for Shadowling. Not to be confused with a c-ling.

Sec - Short for Security, but not for...

Shitcurity - When Security is abusing their power, does not know/ignores Space Law, and/or is considered incompetent. Since Security is generally staffed by players, just like you, doing the best they can, it is generally wise to avoid using this word. If you have a grievance with how Sec is behaving, take it up with the IAA, Magistrate, HoS, or Captain.

Shuttle - Most of the time refers to the Emergency Escape Shuttle which shows up at the end of the round near the Escape Arm. Can also refer to the Arrival Shuttle (where you start if you join late), the syndicate or wizard shuttle (which you'll rarely see, if ever), the Supply Shuttle (which brings items to the Cargo Bay), or the mining shuttle (which moves people between the mining station).

Signal - A beep sent from a Remote Signaling Device. "Default Signal" is used to refer to the default setting of the devices, which is Frequency 147.9, Code 30.

Signs - Wet Floor Signs or Holographic Floor signs. Janitors should put these down where they've mopped.

SS13 - Space Station 13. The title of the game that you're playing (now).

Syndicate - The Syndicate are an organization that desire the downfall of Nanotrasen. Syndicate operatives appear in Traitor and Nuke Emergency rounds. Syndicate agents are usually very highly trained and usually have at least basic training in all aspects of station work.

See Identifying Antagonists for more details for more information about identifying Syndicate members.

Also referred to as 'Syndie' or 'Synd', though don't use that too often in-character.

See also: Nuclear Agent, Syndicate Infiltration Team, Traitor and its own page.

Tabling - The act of grabbing, and then placing someone onto a table to instantly knock them down on it.

Tele - While usually referring to the hand teleporter, it could also be referring to the full-fledged teleporter in the teleporter room.

Traitor - The traitor, sometimes referred to as the Syndicate operative, is a role given to one of the players in Traitor or Autotraitor rounds. The traitor has two or three objectives that must be accomplished in order for them to win the round.

May also be used to refer to any other Syndicates (see Nuclear Agents and similar) or Revolutionaries (see Game Mode Revolution)

See also: Traitor, Game Mode Traitor

Wormhole - A black swirly portal, which appears during random events. Anything coming into contact with a wormhole will be teleported to a random area on or off the station. They can be fairly dangerous or cause temporary blockades. Not to be confused with portals made from the Handheld Teleporter, which are blue or (more rarely) orange.

Wizard - Usually refers to the Wizard game mode, or a Wizard player who has access to a number of spells with their goal of causing destruction to the station and escaping.

Xeno - A Xenomorph or alien. A predatory species with the goal of infesting the station.

Z-Level - Another "area" of the game. Part of BYOND's functionality. For example, the station, the Telecomms satellite, the mining station, Centcom and the derelict are all on different Z-levels. Going off the edge of one Z-Level will take you to another. Right now most of these transitions are random. Try to avoid being spaced.