Here is our comprehensive reference guide to the most common adult web jargon! Your very own Adult Webmaster Dictionary!

Data
Originally the word was Datum and it used to mean an assemblage of research and/or facts. In the information age, data is information that has been translated into code like Binary so that it may be deciphered by math co-processors and software. Factual information (as measurements or statistics) used as a basis for reasoning, discussion, or calculation. For example you could have an Excel sheet full of Data relating to your monthly profits.

Dead or Broken Link
A link that is no longer valid or isn't working. When you click on a link and get a "page not found error."

Dedicated Hosting
The computer that stores files and distributes them over the World Wide Web is known as a server. When you pay for web hosting, you have a few options of what type of server you want your site to reside upon. If you pay for virtual hosting, you are paying to share the same server with many others. When you pay for dedicated hosting, you are paying for a specific machine dedicated to only your site. Dedicated hosting costs more but insures better service for your surfers. Hosting Listings.

Deep Link
The hyperlinks that relate to the content within your site and reside inside the many pages of your site are known as deep links. In other words, deep links are those not on your site's front page.

Deep Web
Search engine spiders are only capable of indexing a limited number of web pages and sites. There are estimably three times as many web pages not indexed by search engines than there are indexed. These hidden pages are called the Deep Web.

Defragment
Using a computer is kind if like when a bunch of kids visit the library. The books are in a nice, neat order but by the time they leave, everything is out of place. Defragmenting your hard drive is similar to a librarian cleaning up the books after a visit by the kids. Files get mixed up and split apart when you use your machine. The more defragmented your hard drive, the slower your computer functions. Defragmentation puts everything back in its place.

Demo
Demonstration (real or simulated) of how a software, application, interface, or other program type works.

Demographics
In marketing terms, your demographic would be your target audience. If your content is comprised of bondage imagery then your desired demographic would be bondage loving surfers, and so on.

Design
In relation to a web page, a design is the overall layout and graphics of that page.

Desktop
The main screen of a computer running an operating system. In Windows the Desktop is where you see wallpaper, program icons and a taskbar running at the bottom of the screen. When you click an icon on your Window's Desktop you open a program Window.

Dialer
Dialer or Phone Billing is an executable program. When used in porn, once installed, the dialer disconnects the surfer's modem and reconnects to the dialer's server. The dialer porn delivery service charges their fees to the users phone bill and the rates are comparable to 1-900-phone lines. Dialers can be misused by webmasters who force surfers to download or trick them into installing the dialer. Dialer Listings.

Digitize
The process of converting non-digital information into digital format. One would digitize a photograph by using a scanner.

Directories
A directory is a search site where the links have been categorized and listed accordingly. Directories are usually edited manually whereas the links from a search engine are obtained by software. Yahoo and Google are search engines. DMOZ is a search Directory.

Document
Basically, another name for a file. A webpage is an HTML document.

Domain Names
At one time a web address was comprised of a series of numbers. Now, the numbers are still there but we attach names to Internet locations. The domain is the middle part of the URL (Universal Resource Locator). The first part http://www is the part that tells browser software and servers the file is a web page. The last part .com is the top level domain, .com for commercial, .edu for a university site, etc. The domain is the one you create and register. The domain is the unique identifier of the URL.

Domain Names System (DNS)
The way a domain name (web address) is assigned and designated to a specific IP Address.

Domain Parking
If you want to pay for and register a domain but you're not ready to host it, you can park it. Most times your registrar will allow you to park your domain on their server until the time you can point it to paid hosting.

Doorway Page
An alternate entry page into your website that is specifically geard for search engine ranking.

Downloadable Provider
In the beginning of Internet porn a site owner would have to buy his/her content online and then wait for it to arrive in the mail on CD. Content files were too big to download in their original formats. Then ZipContent originated the concept of compressing large image files into zip files, making content purchasing easier for webmasters all over the world. Content Provider Listings

Downsizing
An artful way to say "We’re low on money so we're going to have to fire some people and close some departments."

Downtime
Any time a computer is down it's downtime. When a web server crashes or fails, that's downtime. When your own machine gives you the blue screen of death and it takes you a couple of hours to get things going again, you've experienced downtime. In the old times, when only banks had computers, downtime used to refer to the period of the day when those ancient machines had to collate data and send/receive payments. When this happened, no transactions were allowed. They called it downtime.

Drive-by Download
When a webmaster forces an executable file or spyware program onto a surfer's machine, that's called a drive-by download.

Drive-by Spamming
Spam is junk advertising email. Spam is an unwanted commercial. In a chat room or on a message board, a drive-by spammer is one who posts the spam and leaves. They don't join the conversation, they don't reply to the flames.

Drop Down
A type of menu in software programs or on web pages. The Address Bar on your Internet Explorer browser contains a Drop-Down menu. Just click the tiny arrow on the right of the type-in box and you'll see a menu drop down. These types of menus help make web sites and program windows tidier and neat.

E-Book
A book formatted to be read digitally either by an e-reader program or browser. E-books are downloadable and save paper because everything's digital.

E-Form
If you've signed up for a service or download on the web, you've probably filled out an E-Form or web form. Forms are created with HTML so that the surfer can actually type into boxes on a web page. The FORM tags are written in HTML but the actual interactive application of a form (signing up for a newsletter, joining a paysite) usually needs CGI enabled on the server (your hosting server) side.

E-Zine
A form of content, basically an online magazine. Cozy's Content Listings.

Email Programs
The software program a person uses to receive, read and send email. Outlook, Outlook Express, Netscape Messenger and Eudora are email programs.

Encryption
The process of converting readable data into data that’s unreadable by anyone except those allowed.

Enter Page
Warning Page or Enter Page, the page before a surfer views the main content of your site. The warning page usually displays a statement noting that the material the surfer is about to view is adult oriented. The purpose of a warning page is to keep under aged surfers from accessing your adult site. Warning Pages are very important.

Entrepreneur
Another name for a businessperson.

Erotic Stories
A form of content used by a webmaster. Erotica implies sexual storytelling with plot and character development. A sex story is one where the prose is all about the act. The line between erotica and a sex story is thin and up to interpretation. Erotic Stories Listings.

Error
When you do something wrong with a program or on a website, you get an error message. An error is another word for a mistake.

Ethical Worm
When an administrator wants to patch network security flaws automatically, they sometimes do it with an ethical worm.

Euro
A monetary denomination designated by the European Union. The US has the dollar. The EU has the euro.

Exclusive Content
When you pay an adult photographer to shoot content that no one else gets to use but you, then you've paid for exclusive content. Exclusive content is mostly desirable for paysite operators/owners. Content Providers Listings.

Exit Traffic
Exit traffic are the surfers who leave your page. Whether they click the back button on their browser or go to another site from a link on your web page, when they vacate your site, they are considered exit traffic. Sponsors and traffic traders consider exit traffic as valuable as unique site visitors and will help you make money from exits usually by popping a window coded into your page that opens upon departure.

Eye Candy
An image that delights the eye. Some webmasters rely a little too much on eye candy than they do on actual site content.

Favorite
Another name for a browser bookmark. Internet Explorer has named their bookmark file menu "Favorites".

Feeder Site
A site used for promotion, filtering, or additional property that leads into one primary traffic target.

Fetish
When a person is sexually aroused by an object or body part, they have a fetish. The uninitiated often confuse BDSM content with fetish content. Examples of fetish content would be foot, balloon or smoking imagery and erotica.

File Format
A file format is a type of file. There are images formats like .GIF and .JPG. There are webpage formats like .HTML and .ASP. There are document formats like .TXT and .PDF.

Filtering Software
To block out certain sites or email senders, you would use a filter. To make this process easier, there is software specifically designed to perform the task. Parents often apply filtering software to protect their children from harmful content. Two of the most well-known of these programs are NetNanny and CyberSitter. For a complete list, make sure that you check out Cozy's Legal Listings

Flash
Flash is a type of graphical file format developed by Macromedia . Primarily, Flash is used for animation on the web. Unlike GIF or JPEG, for a surfer to see Flash animation on their browser, they need to install a browser plugin. Fortunately, most browsers have the Flash plugin pre-installed. Flash is used to build banners and even whole websites. If you see web animation that's clear, fast moving and high quality, it's probably a Flash animation.

Frames
A Frame is basically a webpage nested within a webpage. When you see a site where the left part of the page stays the same while the right portion changes with each link clicked, you are probably viewing a framed page.

Free Content Programs
Content that a webmaster could use for free. Make sure that you read the restrictions set forth by the owner of the content carefully. There are adult sponsors who allow webmasters to put links to free content on their websites. The sponsor/provider makes money from surfers when they sign up for paysites/services through the ads embedded on the free content. Cozy Frog has a great Free Content Program, click here to check it out.

Free Hosting
A free site is one where the surfer doesn't have to pay any money for full viewing access. A free site is free for the surfer. Free hosting is free for the adult webmaster. Free adult hosts allow you to have a site on the web without paying for the server space or transfer fees. If you sign up for a free host, you get a certain amount of storage space and (customarily) as much traffic as you can get, all without paying a penny. Free hosts make their money in a few different ways. One is to redirect a percentage of your visitors to their sites. In other words, for every one hundred times a surfer goes to your page, your free host redirects ten of them. Another way they make money is by auto-embedding their ad banners/text links into the top (HEADER) and bottom (FOOTER) of each HTML document in your account. They also make money from your surfer's typos by presenting them with an ad-heavy HTML (404) page when they or you mistype. Make sure to check out our Free Hosting Listings.

Free Site
An adult site that is free for the surfer to access and browse around. Not to be confused with an adult site on a free host. The free site is one that charges no fee to enjoy it's offerings.

FTP
FTP (File Transfer Protocol), you need to upload (FTP) your web pages from your computer on to the web for everyone to see. Transferring your files from your computer to a server.

FUBAR
F.U.B.A.R. is an acronym for "Fucked Up, Beyond Repair."

Full Page Ad (FPA)
More referred to as an FPA, the full-page ad is exactly what the term implies. Adult sponsors will supply their affiliates with the HTML and graphics of a full-page ad marketing a specified program/paysite. The affiliate uses the FPA as a way to promote their sponsors. A webmaster can make a full page ad of their own but should always check to see if doing so complies with their sponsor's terms of service.

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