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

Search Engine
A search engine is really just a collection of programs which search for and list web pages through various applications and algorithms. One program spiders/indexes the site. Another creates a listed database of indexed sites. Yet another handles search requests by comparing them to the indexed database. A search engine uses humans to search and catagorize sites. Check out our Adult and Non-Adult Search Engine Listings.

Server
There are different types of servers. There's mail servers, ftp servers and web servers. A server is really just a big, powerful computer built to perform a certain task. In fact, if you wanted to, you can make your own PC into a web server. But it's easier and safer to leave the business of servers to professionals.

Shaving Hits
A hit is a visit to your website. A unique hit is when a surfer downloads your page for the very first time. When you place a specially coded ID banner link on your porn page and your visitor moves their cursor to it and presses their button, your banner has just gotten a click. Sponsors pay a webmaster for click impressions. Some webmasters will accuse their sponsor of concealing or eliminating amounts of these clicks from their records in various nefarious ways. They refer to this concealment as shaving hits.

Signup Program
There are several ways you can make money from a sponsor. Some will pay you for each time a surfer clicks on their banner. Some will pay you for each webmaster you refer to their sponsor program. Some pay for trials you sell while others pay out on recurring memberships. A signup program is when the sponsor pays the affiliate a certain amount for each surfer who buys a full paysite membership. All of these are payout programs. Most sponsors offer several different payout programs to their affiliates.

Signup Ratio
Amount of surfers that dish out cash to view your adult site as opposed to the amount visitors that visit your site. Example: If 23 out of every 100 surfer that visits your adult pay site signs up for a membership, you Signup Ratio would be 23:100.

Smiley
On the Internet, most conversation and communication is done with text. Text is somewhat unemotional. Therefore, in order to add personality to text, webheads developed cute pictures made with characters. Here are some of these letter/pictures : ) ;). They are called emoticons. When chat boards and rooms have graphics enabled, then emoticons take on the form of images known as icons. The most common icon/emoticon is the smiley face. A smiley can be just a happy face or the word can be a catchall term for emoticons/icons in general.

SMS
Short Message Service (SMS) allows mobile phone users to send text messages. This is done through the Global System for Mobile Communication. SMS is comparable to a paging service. At this time, SMS is mostly available in Europe.

Spamming
Promoting a site or service to unwanted parties via newsgroups or e-mail. Sending someone an advertisement via e-mail without his/her consent. Stay away form illegal e-mail lists! Spamming is not good business.

Spider
A spider is a program used by search engines. This program (also known as a bot or crawler) searches webpages that have been submitted. Different search engines use different spider programs to scan through web pages. Most spiders look for hyperlinks and relative text. Some search the top portion of your code while others search deep within your web.

Splash Page
A decorative document residing on the index page of a website. In essence, a pretty front door. Most Splash pages contain either an enter link to the main site or will redirect to the main site after loading.

Sponsor Content
If you are selling an adult paysite, it's really handy if your sponsor provides free promotional content. Sponsor content is simply content from the sponsor's paysite that the affiliate webmaster can use for marketing purposes. Image sets, hosted galleries and video clips are some of the most-used forms of sponsor content. Sponsor content is great but it goes stale quickly. Don't expect to be listed on many TGP sites with a gallery made from sponsor content.

Sponsor Program
Sponsor or Affiliate or Partnership: basically another name for an adult sponsor program. Affiliate/sponsor relationships center on advertising. The affiliate advertises for the sponsor's program or service on their website, hence the name Sponsor Program. Click here for our Sponsor Program Listings.

Stat Counter
Hit Counter or Stat Counter. Tool used to track the number of surfers that click onto your adult site. Usually provides other useful stats like the number of return visitors, geographic locations, weekly-monthly totals and so on. A stat counter is pretty much a glorified hit counter. Most pre-made counters made for adult webmasters collect more data than just basic site visits. These -usually graphic- counters log referring sites, unique and raw hits, countries sending traffic and even the time of day the hits were created. All of this data is known as site statistics.

Static
When you see the word static applied to a web page or image it means the thing doesn’t move. A single picture is a static image. A single-image banner is a static banner. Text is static content.

Storage
When you have a web hosting account, you are allotted a certain amount of server space where you'll keep all your website files. This space is called storage.

Streaming Video Feeds
A streaming feed is one where the imagery is compressed in such a way that it can play AS it downloads. In other words, the user (with a fast connection and appropriate player software) can see the video immediately instead of waiting to download and then open it to view it. Cozy's Streaming Video Feed Listings.

Style Sheet
Tags nested within the Header tags of a main HTML document. These Style Sheet tags determine the look/colors of the entire website. In other words, all resulting pages within your web will refer to the determining tags of the original Style Sheet.

Submission
When you type your URL and contact information into the web form of another site and you click the SUBMIT button, you've made a submission. If you did it at a search engine, you wait to see if they indexed your submission. If you do it at a link list, you wait to see if they list your submission.

Submit Page
A page with a web form where you type in contact/site information in order to submit your site for listing. Here is an example of a Submit Page.

Surf
The action of going on the web and visiting sites and pages and downloading stuff. Faster than walking but freer that driving.

Table
A Table is an HTML tag that allows one to add rows and columns of square cells onto a web page. Tables are very useful for adding order and alignment to a design. You can format each cell and merge them in similar fashion to a spreadsheet. You can make Table borders invisible and give cells transparent, colored or graphic backgrounds. A Table tag is one of the most difficult HTML tags to master. But once you get the hang of it, the rest is relatively easy.

Taboo
Something that is more than forbidden. Something shunned by a group or civilization. Something that could result in both punishment and banishment. The very heart of the porn business.

Tag
A tag is a bit of computer language code. When adult webmasters refer to tags, they’re usually referring to bits of HTML. A META tag is a line of HTML code that’s located within the HEAD tags of an HTML document. An image tag points to an image file. A link tag points to another HTML page.

Targeting
Specifically gearing your promotions towards specific audience, niche, market, demographic, or set of key words.

Technobabble
When you tell your Auntie that your hard drive crashed and you had to format and now you can't get your OS to install and your floppy won't even boot up and she gets a glazed look in her eye, you know you're speaking Technobabble.

Third Party Billing
Third Party Processor or Credit Card Processor or Third Party Billing, usually associated with online credit card processors. A third party processor will handle all your credit card transactions for a fee. They offer all the tools you need to accept payment from your visitors. You don't need a credit card merchant account. Cozy Credit Card Processor Listings.

Third Party Processor
Third Party Processor or Credit Card Processor or Third Party Billing, usually associated with online credit card processors. A third party processor will handle all your credit card transactions for a fee. They offer all the tools you need to accept payment from your visitors. You don't need a credit card merchant account. Cozy Credit Card Processor Listings.

Thread
A thread is a series of replies to a topic posted in either a newsgroup or on a message board. Another kind of message board is a flat board where users post in a scrolling fashion. A threaded message board is easier to navigate by topic than is a flat board.

Thumbnail
A smaller version of an image used to reference or link to a larger version of the same image. A quick loading method to preview what you will see before you click on a link.

TITLE 18
According to the government, US Code is a consolidation and codification by subject matter of the general and permanent laws of the United States. Title 18 of US code covers Crimes and Criminal Procedure. TITLE 18 is a section of the US PENAL CODE that pertains to the protection of children. All adult sites that feature images, video or webcam feeds must include a link to and/or text of a TITLE 18 disclaimer. This disclaimer must state that all models portrayed within are proven to be of legal age. Coincidentally, the age of legal consent -In the US- for adult modeling is 18. The most important portion of TITLE 18 US Code for adult webmasters is CHAPTER 110 - Section 2257: Record Keeping Requirements. This is the part of the code that tells you about the proper documentation you need to post on your webpage to show your site is in compliance with the law. You can view the entire code here: http://uscode.house.gov/title_18.htm

Toolbar
Most software has a program window. That program window is usually framed at the top with first a Title Bar then a Menu Bar and then a Toolbar. The Title Bar shows the name of the program and contains the Close, Maximize/Resize and Minimize buttons. The Menu Bar lists text-based drop-down menus such as File, Edit, View, Tools and Help. The graphic icons in the bar below the Menu are the ingredients of the Toolbar. The Toolbar performs pretty much the same functions as the Menu Bar, just faster.

Top List
A top list is a link list ordered in terms of popularity. A top list contains links to full adult websites, not individual galleries. A webmaster submits their site to the top list. If the top list operator decides to add it to their list, then they'll place it in a certain position on the list. The more popular your link, the higher you will rise on the top list. Click here for our Top List Listings.

TOS
TOS stands for Terms of Service. When you sign up for a sponsor or web host, you will be provided with a link to the company's TOS page. The TOS states the rules of the agreement. A contract if you will.

Traffic
Term used to refer to the amount of visitors to your adult website. I need to get more traffic (visitors) to my page. You need to advertise in order to increase your traffic. Traffic is key to success in this business.

Trap
A trap is a place you get stuck in through trickery or deception. On the web, a trap tricks the surfer with a link which, ­when clicked on, gets them stuck in an endless barrage of pop-up windows, page redirects and other crazy stuff. The mainstream world calls this trapping. Adult webmasters call it a Circle Jerk or CJ for short.

Turnkey Site
An adult site that is already designed and finished with logos, content, revenue options, hosting. All you have to do is run the site. There are companies that specialize in turnkey site services. They do just about everything for you, usually for a hefty price. Cozy's Turnkey Site Listings.

Tutorials
A tutorial is a word used on the adult Internet to describe an instructional text. A tutorial is a lesson or a how-to. The lessons on Cozy Academy can be called tutorials.

Twinks
A twink is the gay counterpart to the teen niche on the adult Internet. A twink is a gay man who looks young. Keep in mind all models on the adult net must be over 18 to be legal.

Uniques
Number of visitors to your site. If 4 individuals visit your site on any given day and 2 of them click onto your site 6 times the same day, it will be referred to as 4 unique visitors for that day.

Unix
The most common operating system software for Internet servers.

Uploading
The act of sending files to your web server to be accessible from the Internet.

URL
A web address. Actual address to a page would be a URL. Example: http://www.cozyfrog.com

User Session
The time a user (usually a paysite member) is logged into their online account. Monitoring user sessions can help a paysite owner to suss out password thieves. In other words, if a single user has many sessions occurring at the same time, something's fishy.

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