[Forum Guardian]

The following is a list of common terminology you may encounter around the forum or while talking to other members. They are categorized under three sections:

IC
"In Character"
These terms are used by characters in roleplay. They exist canonically in the IDS universe.

OOC
"Out Of Character"
These terms are used by forum members, usually for organization purposes. It does not usually carry over into IC.

IC & OOC
"Both"
These terms are used by RP characters and also forum members.

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The Dictionary

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Alpha [IC & OOC]
Traditionally, the head of a wolf pack. However, OOCly this refers to any member who plays a leader character in a pack regardless of species.

Blackblood [IC]
A slur referring to fringe dires, coined from the superstition that fringe dires have tar-like blood. A legacy term carried over from when IDS was the BBA forum.

Bacchus Dire [IC & OOC]
A member created species of dire wolf originating from the Beyond. See the species information guide to learn more and find out about playing one.

Barbados Dire [IC & OOC]
A subspecies of Dire wolf found in Tortuga.

Beyond the Fringe [IC]
The inhospitable, mysterious, and unknown world outside the western border-- known as the Fringe-- of the straits. Thought to be the birthplace of the hellions which have migrated to the Dire Straits.

Board Pack [OOC]
Packs that have earned a showcase spot on the index page.

Chasm [IC]
Miles of deep, dark, seemingly bottomless canyon that borders the eastern side of the straits.

Consent [OOC]
Consent areas/boards require your permission before your character is killed or injured.

Darkspawn [OOC]
A slang term referring to relatives of the character, Dark. There are a lot.

Fringe [IC]
A nearly impassible, inhospitable mountain range that makes up the western border of the main playable area of IDS. The only safe passage is called the Fringeborn Path.

Fringeborn [IC]
A slur directed towards Fringe Dires, Hellions, and those born Beyond the Fringe.

Fringe Dire [IC & OOC]
A species of dire wolf that is larger than the standard dire and originates from Beyond the Fringe. They are susceptible to a rage gene usually referred to as "The Fury".

Fury [IC]
A genetic defect in Fringe Dires that when triggered, traditionally, cause them to attack blindly. Not all Fringe Dires express the Fury, and it may ICly be called other terms. Symptoms and behaviors are usually member-chosen and vary from character to character or even family to family.

Hellion [IC & OOC]
An umbrella term to refer to things like hellhounds, hellcats, etc. Another word for "hellbeast".

Ignes Dire [IC & OOC]
A subspecies of grey wolf found in Saboro.

Jacanda Dire [IC & OOC]
A breed of dire specifically developed in Inaria by crossing Dires and Fringe Dires.

Marshes [IC & OOC]
The Marshlands was an early iteration of what would become the Reach. Canonically, the marshes dried up.

Neutrals [OOC]
Short for "Neutral Lands," or non-pack territory. The OOC word for the In Between.

No Consent [OOC]
No Consent areas or boards mean that if your characters get into certain situations, they may be killed or maimed without your permission.

Open [OOC]
A thread marked "open" means that anyone can post in it (obeying pack rules/boundaries - a character posting in an open thread of a pack they're not in is trespassing!)

Persona [OOC]
A side account used for characters rather than OOC posting. Personas can be attached to a main account and switched into from the drop down menu at the top of the forum.

Proboards [OOC]
Home of the very first version of IDS, back when it was affiliated with Kay Fedewa's Blackblood Alliance project, and before the migration to SMF.

Profile [OOC]
An outline of your character's information, including personalty, physical appearance, and history. Found in the Character Directory. Also known as a "bio."

PRP [OOC]
Private Role Play. This thread is not open to characters that aren't pre-approved by the topic poster.

Raid [IC & OOC]
An orchestrated assault by one pack on another.

Reach Pack [OOC]
Any pack in the "Reach" index category. Once referred to a single area, but since packs are no longer confined to it "reach" has become more of a metaphorical label.

Redlands [IC & OOC]
Old term for the Reach, specifically the marshes.

Satellite Pack [OOC]
A smaller off-shoot that lives within the same territory as a larger pack, often under that pack's control.

SMF [OOC]
Short for Simple Machines Forum; the platform on which the previous incarnation of IDS was hosted. Also referred to as "the .org site".

Sparklewolf [OOC]
A slang term for an abnormally-colored wolf character. You are playing a sparklewolf, whether you think you're too good for that label or not. Don't lie to yourself.

Straits [OOC]
The main playable area of IDS, comprised of two land masses separated by the turbulent Dire Strait. They are bordered on the west by the Fringe and on the east by the Chasm.

Tryout [OOC]
Usually required for UFA characters (See UFA). While the adopter decides what a tryout should include, they commonly include: "tryout post" (an example post of how you would rp the character), a personality, a full or partial profile, previous rp examples, or possible plot ideas. These are normally sent via PM to the adopter.

Thrillkilling [OOC]
A slang term that refers to a tendency for someone to go around having their character kill others just for kicks. This is obviously not acceptable behavior, and so the term is mostly used as a joke.

UFA [OOC]
"Up for Adoption". Refers to characters who people put up for other members to adopt and play, usually after sending a tryout and being judged. The most common UFA characters are new litters and relatives of other characters.

Wolfhands [OOC]
A joke term referring to paw dexterity. Sometimes wolfhands aren't enough. Sometimes you need to drink a cold can of wolfsoda before going to wolfchurch. Wolfgodbless you, my wolfchild.