Terminology

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A list of commonly-used terms and phrases that you might hear on the server or on our forums.

Admin

Short for Administrator. They have (usually) red-orange 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.

Moderators also have a similar job, but have slightly paler blue OOC text, and do not have the powers that admins do.

Adminhelp

A command which lets you send a message to the admins. Use this (AND NOT OOC) 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 IRC.

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 Analyzers, Botany's Plant analyzers, or Research & Development's Destructive analyzer.

Atmos

Either an Atmospheric Technician (which are also commonly known as Atmos Techs) 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 green 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 by hacking the airlock.

Bridge

The command center of the station. Found in the center of the station.

Brig

An area of the station with cells and a common holding area, where people are held by Security.

BYOND

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

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.

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

The big green glass things in Medbay. They are used to freeze dying people when treatment must be delayed, to deal with genetic damage, and to finish new clones.

Cult

Refers to the Cult game mode. 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 dead players.

Disk

The Nuclear Authentication Disk, used in Nuclear Mode.

Emag

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

Electrify

Another feature of airlocks. If an electrified airlock is touched by someone without insulated gloves, they will receive an electric shock, burning their hands and arms and being stunned for a short 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.

Engine

The large area in the south of the ship which should contain the Supermatter.

EVA

A room just southwest of the Security wing where space suits, jetpacks, and supplies for repairing breaches 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 ghosts themselves. Ghosts can speak on deadchat, move around the station freely, see everything, and can't interact with anything meaningfully. They are used to observe the game after you have died or if you log on as an observer. Cannot be seen directly by living players, except in special circumstances in Cult mode.

Gib

The bloody, torn-apart remnants of a formerly living being. Created by people, livestock, monkeys, and cyborgs exploding.

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.

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 Baystation 12 than on most other SS13 servers.

Hacking

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

HoP

Head of Personnel. Should assign jobs, but usually ends up as a secondary Captain.

RD

Research Director.

HoS

Head of Security.

Hulk

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. Genetics is no longer active, so Hulks are now rare and Admins are usually involved in their creation.

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.)

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 the atmosphere is bad or absent.

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 noticeable gaps between you doing stuff and it actually happening in-game. Lag is often associated with a bomb or a breach, since handling the atmospheric simulation takes a lot of processing power.

Law/Laws

Rules which the AI and Cyborgs must follow. Are somewhat open to interpretation by the player, and differ in interpretation by the AI's personality, 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.

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 type it is, or doing things your character should not know how to do, like a surgeon with no skill in construction or electronics hacking an airlock. This is a bannable offence.

Mod

Short for Moderators who help deal with various issues, but are ranked lower than admins.

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 leaders having the nuclear bomb code memorized.

N2

Nitrogen, an invisible gas kept in red canisters. Inert, but makes up a certain percentage of breathable air. 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.

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 game mode, or the Nuclear Fission Explosive used in said mode.

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.

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. For the command see: OOC.

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.

PDA

Handheld devices that act as pagers and flashlights and have other useful functions depending on what cartridge is inserted.

Phoron

A.K.A. Biotoxin. Purple gas kept in orange canisters. Poisonous and flammable. Research into uses and properties of plasma is the station's prime reason for existence, according to the backstory. Used to be called Plasma.

Pray

Ask the gods for help when no one else can help you. What this really does is ping the admins with an in-character request for divine help. If the admins are in a good mood, they might help you, and it's all IC even if it doesn't make sense. Basically, it's allowed admin abuse.

Radio

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 exsist. To use the equipped department radio's default department frequency use 'say ":h Hello Department!"'. (See Radio for details or how to use the radio when it has multiple department frequencies available)

RCD

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

Records

Comes in three flavors, Security, Medical, and Employment, all accessible from terminals. 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/Traitor Report

A document printed out from communications consoles at the start of most game modes. Lists who might be the traitor and what might be their targets. Inaccurate to the point where it's usually false. Do not treat this report as proof of guilt.

Resurrection

See Revive.

Rev

Could refer either to the game mode Revolution, or a member of the Revolution in said game mode.

Revive

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

Robust/Robusting

The game's ROBUST COMBAT SYSTEM. To robust someone is to fight someone or to win in a fight. To be robust means you often win fights. Fighting without 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.

Shuttle

Most of the time refers to the Emergency Escape Shuttle or Transfer 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 and research shuttles (which move people between the station and the asteroid).

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. Janitors should put these down where they've mopped.

SS13

Space Station 13.

Syndicate

Mechanically, Syndicate operatives appear in Traitor and Nuke rounds; however, in the lore, there is no such organization as "the Syndicate". There are rival companies, criminal organizations, and mercenary groups, but if you refer to "the Syndicate", most characters will usually reply, "What kind of a syndicate?" or, "Who's that?"

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

See also: Nuke (game mode)

Tabling

The act of grabbing, and then placing someone onto a table to instantly knock them down on it. Useful to incapacitate them briefly, to put them on the table for surgery, or to help them across the table when they can't climb across on their own.

Tele

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

Thermals

Optical Thermal Scanners. Let you see people through walls, though not the floor. Only used by Traitors.

Traitor

The traitor, sometimes referred to as the Syndicate, is a role given to one of the human players in Traitor rounds. A traitor is a character designated as an antagonist against the station. The player determines what the traitor's goals are and how they will go about accomplishing them; these goals can be anything from theft to assassination to terrorist activity, but are intended to create a challenging situation for the non-traitor crew to deal with.

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

See also: Traitoring, Traitor.

Wormhole

A black swirly portal. 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 simply cause temporary trouble. Not to be confused with portals made from the Handheld Teleporter, which are blue or (more rarely) orange.

You Hear a Voice in Your Head...

A subtle, in-character message from an admin. Generally, you should follow the advice it gives.

Wizard

Usually refers to the Wizard game mode, or a Wizard player who has access to a number of spells.

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.

ZAS

Stands for Zone Atmospherics System, Baystation12's dysfunctional atmospherics simulator.