Mastering Gather: Terms & Definitions
October 08, 2008 01:59 PM EDT
(Updated: November 07, 2008 11:53 AM EST)
views: 192
|
comments: 39
The LearningCenter™ for Gather — Step-by-Step Instructions/Tutorials and Helpful Information for Maximizing YOUR Gather Experience. |
The Language of Gather
Gather, like any community, has a language all its own. Some terminology is defined by Gather and is used to identify various components and features of the site. Other language, or slang, is developed over time within the community. To assist you in recognizing this terminology, the following glossary contains the most common terms or expressions and a brief description. In some cases, additional information may be available which you may access by clicking the 'more' link for each item. The symbols to the left of each definition indicate if the term or phrase has been developed within the community, or represents an officially recognized term, function or area of the site.  | Gather Created or Endorsed Term or Expression. |  | Community Developed Slang. |
|  | | | Account Settings - Contains the details of your Gather account, including your display name, location, guarded viewing options and email address.
| | more |  | ActiveX - A small software component required for the uploading of photos.
| | more | | | Affiliations - An element in your profile covering your experiences, education and organizations.
| | more | | | Album - A method for organizing and displaying your photos on Gather.
| | more | | | Alter - An alternate identity, or 'pen-name'. Often this refers to members that use a secondary username for a mischievous or disruptive purpose.
| | | | Article - Currently referred to as a "Post". The primary means for sharing (publishing) written work on Gather.
| | more | | | Avatar - The image which represents you in the community, also referred to as your 'Icon'.
| |
|  |
back to index  | | | Banner - A customizable image which displays across the top of your 'groupspace' (group home page).
| | more | | | Blocking - Preventing the receipt of Gather mail messages from specific members, by adding them to your 'block list'.
| | more |
| |
back to index  | | | Caption - The text area which appears beneath images and videos. There is no character maximum, and limited formatting through HTML is allowed.
| | | | Cash Option/Program - U.S. resident members that accrue more than 3,000 Gather Points within one (1) calendar month are eligible to convert to the cash points program. This program will be phased out in January 2009.
| | more | | | Chrome - An internet browser developed by Google.
| | more | | | Community Guidelines - A set of standards that all members must adhere to as a condition for membership.
| | more | | | Connection - A member you connect with on Gather as a 'friend'. This member is included within your 'My Friends' listing.
| | more | | | Content-Restricted Group - A Gather Group that is visible to the community in group listings, but the content is visible only to group members.
| | more | | | Correspondent - Members that publish regular featured content to the site, primarily to the Gather 'Essentials' and 'Today' groups. Members in this position are compensated by Gather for their content.
| |
| |
back to index  | | | Dashboard - A portion of your 'My Gather' page that provides important information regarding your account, such as your earnings, and number of mail messages or friend requests.
| | more | | | DB / DB1 / DB10 - An abbreviation for 'Drive-By', which refers to someone who typically rates without commenting, or providing feedback on your content. Therefore, a DB10 would be a drive-by rating of 10 stars.
| | | | del.icio.us - A social bookmarking service that allows you to bookmark content for sharing across the web.
| | more | | | Digg - A social bookmarking site in which content is submitted by users, and then promoted to the front page through a user-driven ranking system.
| | more | | | Display Name - The name which you have chosen to display on the site. You may modify your display name at any time.
| | | | Drive-By - The act of rating without commenting, or providing feedback on content. Often referred to in conjunction with an unexplained low rating.
| |
| |
back to index  | | | Earnings - The Gather Points you accrue through activity on the site.
| | more | | | Elitist - A slang term referring to members that believe the site should uphold a higher standard for quality content.
| | | | Embed Code - Computer coding used to add Gather videos to other websites or blogs outside of the community.
| | more | | | Essentials - Groups which focus on specific topical content. Sometimes referred to as 'channels'. They are: books, family, food, health, money, movies, music, news, politics, travel, and writing.
| | more | | | Explore - The primary page for viewing content and community rankings on Gather.
| | more |
| |
back to index  | | | FAQ - An abbreviation for 'Frequently Asked Questions'. The Gather FAQs may be accessed by clicking 'help' at the top of any page on Gather.
| | more | | | Featuring (groups) - The featuring, or highlighting of articles within a groupspace (group home page) by the group owner or moderator.
| | more | | | Featuring (Gather Picks) - The featuring of content and groups on the "Explore" and "Groups" pages by the Gather editorial staff.
| | | | | Feed - The primary method for delivering content and activities to your "My Gather" and profile pages. "Content for Me", "Comments by My Friends", "Friend Updates" and "My Activities" are each defined data streams containing a maximum of 500 individual items/actions.
| | more | | | Firefox - A popular internet browser compatible with both Windows and Mac OS based computers.
| | more | | | Flag/Flagging (publisher) - Members have the ability to mark, or flag, their content for mature audiences. This is a requirement if your content contains adult themes or language.
| | more | | | | Flag/Flagging (community) - More accurately referred to as 'reporting' or 'content reporting'. All members have the ability to flag, or report, content or actions that violate the Terms of Service (TOS) or Community Guidelines.
| | more | | | Flaggit - A slang term for a member that reports content maliciously or without proper justification. Alternate spelling: Flaggot.
| | | | Friend - A friend is a member of the community that you have 'connected' with. Formerly a 'friend' was referred to as a 'connection'.
| | more | | | Friend Set - A grouping of your friends which you establish. You may limit access to your content to specific friend sets.
| | more |
| |
back to index  | | | Gaming - Inappropriate behavior or actions used to achieve a desired result, such as winning a community competition or earning Gather Points.
| | | | Gather Gear - Gather-branded merchandise (pens, shirts, mugs, etc.).
| | more | | | Gather Glitch - An unexpected problem, or bug, which interferes with some aspect of site functionality.
| | | | Gather Picks - Content and groups selected by the Gather editorial team to be featured each day on the "Explore" and "Groups" pages.
| | | | Gather Poll - A daily interactive poll question displayed in the right-hand sidebar of the "Explore" page.
| | more | | | Gatherer/Gatherite - A Gather member.
| | | | Gatherholic - A member whom obsessively enjoys the Gather community.
| | | | Gather'Ing' - A coordinated face-to-face get-together of Gather members.
| | more | | | Gatherversary - A member's sign-up anniversary. Typically celebrating each year of Gather membership.
| | | | Geotag - A geographical identifier used to designate the location where a photo was taken.
| | | | Group Name - The public title of a Gather Group. This title can be modified at any time.
| | | | Group Username - The group name used in the group's URL or web address. The username cannot be changed.
| | | | Group - A collection of content around a theme or topic established by the group owner or moderators.
| | more | | | Groupspace - The home page for a Gather Group.
| | | | Guarded Viewing - A viewing filter which can define and limit the type of content you are exposed to in the community.
| | more |
| |
back to index  | | | Hawthorne - The version name assigned to a significant site upgrade in 2008 generally reviled by many members.
| | more | | | Home Page - An editorial-driven page on Gather previously used to provide daily features and information (gather.com). This concept was recently eliminated in favor of a static page displaying general site information.
| | more | | | Hot Topics - A periodic content series published by the Gather Editorial Team discussing current news items.
| | more |
| |
back to index  | | | Ice - The version name assigned to the latest site upgrade. The current version name appears at the bottom of all pages on Gather.
| | more | | | Icon - The image which represents you in the community.
| | more | | | Internet Explorer - A popular internet browser compatible only with Windows.
| | more | | | Image - A photograph or illustration that has been uploaded to Gather.
| | more | | | Ings - An abbreviation for Gather'Ings', which is a coordinated face-to-face get-together of Gather members.
| | more | | | Interests - An element in your profile covering your favorite, and current, activities.
| | more | | | ISP - Internet Service Provider. The entity that provides your access to the internet.
| |
| |
back to index  | | | None Available At This Time. | |
| |
back to index  | | | None Available At This Time. | |
| |
back to index  | | | Live Chat - An interactive real-time interview or Q&A session typically held between one person and the community. This occurs within the comment thread of a posted 'live-chat' article.
| |
| |
back to index  | | | Marticle - An article in which a member expresses their intention to leave the community, potentially only as a plea for attention.
| | more | | | Mass Mail - A mail message sent to multiple recipients, typically with a request to view content, or join a group.
| | | | Member Editor - A group of members that have rotating responsibility for moderating and promoting content within the Gather Essentials: Writing group.
| | more | | | Member Support - The principal customer and technical support group for Gather. Contact Member Support via the Member Support Form
| | | | Membername - Another term for your username. Your membername cannot be changed.
| | | | Moderation - Requiring approval prior to publication. Content published to moderated Gather groups will not appear in the group until the group owner or moderator has approved the submission.
| | more | | | Most Disgust - A slang term expressing member dissatisfaction over content which often populates the 'Most Discussed' content listings.
| | | | My Friends - The members in your network of connections. Previously referred to as "My People".
| | more | | | My Gather - Your primary portal to current activity in your Gather world. From this page, you can view all content published by members in your network, as well as critical information such as earnings, friend requests and pending group invitations.
| | more | | | My People - The members in your network of connections. Now referred to as "My Friends".
| |
| |
back to index  | | | Namespace - Currently known as your "profile". This is your public home page, which can list your community activities, groups, friends, interests & affiliations.
| | more | | | Network - Members that you are connected to. Also referred to as 'My Friends'.
| | | | Newbie - A newer member of the Gather community.
| | | | Notification - Emails which are triggered by specific events in the community. Some notifications may be turned on or off on your 'my account' settings page.
| | more |
| |
back to index  | | | Opera - An alternate internet browser, with specialized functionality.
| | more |
| |
back to index  | | | Permalink - The permanent URL or web address for your content. This address will never change.
| | more | | | Personal Invitation Link - Computer coding used to add invitation buttons or links to websites, blogs or email signatures outside of the Gather community.
| | more | | | Photo Album - A method for organizing and displaying your photos on Gather.
| | more | | | Ping - A public message or comment posted by another member to your profile.
| | more | | | PM - An abbreviation for 'Private Message'.
| | more | | | Points - The reward received for participating in the community. Points may be redeemed for gift cards or merchandise. Members can also redeem points for cash.
| | more | | | Points Partner - Companies and organizations where Gather Points may be redeemed.
| | more | | | Point Whore - A member that participates in the community with the primary motivation of earning Gather Points.
| | | | Post - Formerly referred to as an "Article". The primary means for sharing (publishing) written work on Gather.
| | more | | | Posticle - A derogatory term referring to short articles/posts with little substance or perceived value.
| | | | Private Group - A group that is only visible to group members.
| | more | | | Private Message - A Gather mail message to or from another member.
| | more | | | Profile - Your public home page, which can list your community activities, groups, friends, interests & affiliations.
| | more | | | Publishing Guidelines - A set of publishing standards that all members must adhere to as a condition for membership.
| | more | | | PW - An abbreviation for 'Point Whore'.
| |
| |
back to index  | | | None Available At This Time. | |
| |
back to index  | | | Rating - An aggregate assessment of the value the community places on content. Rating is based on a 10 point system.
| | more | | | Reporting - Content reporting. All members have the ability to flag, or report, content or actions that violate the Terms of Service (TOS) or Community Guidelines.
| | more | | | RSS - An abbreviation for 'Really Simple Syndication'. RSS allows you to subscribe to content of interest and combine links to that content within a single web page or 'news reader' outside of Gather.
| | more |
| |
back to index  | | | Safari - A popular internet browser primarily used on MAC OS based computers.
| | more | | | Share - Formerly referred to as "publishing". The primary means of adding content to the community.
| | more | | | Slideshow - A method for viewing album photos in an automated sequential presentation.
| | | | Social Bookmark - A way of storing, organizing and sharing bookmarks of web pages on the internet. A variety of bookmarking options are available on Gather including Digg, del.icio.us, MySpace, Facebook, Furl, Reddit, StumbleUpon, Technorati, Twitter & Google.
| | more | | | Spamment - A comment of a 'spammish' nature.
| | | | Spotlight - The featuring of content on your profile page. You may spotlight up to 4 articles (posts) and 4 images or videos.
| | more | | | Status - A brief editable message which appears on your profile page. Changes to your status are reflected in the "Friend Updates" section of members in your network.
| |
| |
back to index  | | | Tag - A label added to content which allows for better organization and identification within the community.
| | more | | | Tag Line - A brief editable message which appears in several locations across the site, including your profile page sidebar and as a pop-up message when members roll their mouse cursor over your icon.
| | | | Terms of Service - A set of rules or policies that all members must adhere to as a condition for membership.
| | more | | | TOS - An abbreviation for 'Terms of Service'.
| | more | | | Troll - A member who intentionally posts controversial comments or takes other negative action, with the intention of disrupting the community.
| |
| |
back to index  | | | Username - The identifier used in the URL or web address for your namespace. Your username cannot be changed.
| | more |
| |
back to index  | | | None Available At This Time. | |
| |
back to index  | | | wOOt - An exclamation of excitement or approval such as "Woo Hoo!!".
| |
| |
back to index  | | | None Available At This Time. | |
| |
back to index  | | | None Available At This Time. | |
| |
back to index  | | | None Available At This Time. | |
| |
back to index | |  |
Please provide details below to help Gather review this content. If it is found to be inappropriate and in violation of the Gather Terms of Service, action will be taken.
You have successfully submitted a report for this post.
|
|
More by Kevin (''The SiteWizard'') V.
|
Tags:
answer,
answers,
faq,
faqs,
gather,
gather for dummies,
gather instruction manual,
gather tips,
gathercom,
instructions,
instruction manual,
question,
questions,
technology,
threemenfishing,
tips,
tips and tricks,
tutorial,
tutorials,
gather manual,
manual for gather,
gather tutorial,
gather guide,
guide,
guide to gather,
instruction,
lesson,
learning center,
learn gather,
learning gather,
lessons,
how do i,
how do you,
how can i,
info,
information,
gather info,
gather information,
shortcuts,
gather shortcuts,
gather slang,
gather glossary,
gather definitions,
gather terms,
definitions,
glossary,
gatherese,
account settings,
activex,
alter,
block,
blocking,
cash option,
cash program,
correspondent,
correspondents,
db1,
db10,
driveby,
digg,
embed code,
essentials,
feed,
flag,
flagging,
friend set,
geotag,
geotags,
gatherversary,
guarded viewing,
mass mail,
moderation,
moderate,
permalink,
ping,
pings,
pm,
pms,
points,
gather points,
pw,
social bookmark,
social bookmarking,
spotlight,
spotlighting,
tag,
tos,
troll,
trolls,
username,
point whore,
groupspace,
userid,
terminology,
language,
gatherology
recommend this
email
print
link to this page
Comments: 39
Welcome to the "Mastering Gather" Instruction Series
Your Step-by-Step Guides to Gather
Looking for something specific? — Check out the HelpIndex™, a categorized listing of all tutorials and other helpful resources in the community.
All tutorials and other helpful information will appear in the categorized HelpIndex™ which can be accessed easily from all LearningCenter content, or other content and comments posted across the community. This index is currently being updated, and will expand as new documents become available.
Bookmark the HelpIndex and gain one-click access to help and instruction for maximizing your Gather experience.
You may click the "rewind" button on any LearningCenter dashboard (above) to view previous tutorials from the Mastering Gather series.
After I publish a few more articles/posts from this series you'll be able to find them all listed by subject in the HelpIndex. This will allow you to connect to tutorials on just about anything ...all from one place.
Therefore, I recommend bookmarking (or adding to your favorites) the HelpIndex, as that will be the most useful to you going forward. I will also be republishing the information on creating 'clickable' links in the next few days, and you'll find that information at the LearningCenter as well. In the interim, I can send you the information via Gather mail.
Many thanks
GatherFest
As for the username change, members have asked and were told by Gather that they cannot honor these requests. Gather does have the capability to change username/subdomain, but they are obviously very selective as to when they use it and for whom.
When submitting a comment to a members article how do I write a word in Bold? I can't do this so how do I do this?
The information in this post is rather dated, but a new version will be coming out in a few days. Plus, it includes a printable quick-reference card!
As for adding boldface, italics and underlining to comments, you can read the post I link to below.
If you have any questions, please let me know!
Thanks again. I printed the pages out for quick reference. I'm old, I forget things.
There are actually over 200 posts in the LearningCenter, all of which will be re-released in the next 2 weeks. Only a few are publicly viewable right now as the rest were being updated to accommodate the recent update. All will have printable quick reference 'cards', as well as a categorized master index.