Porn Surfing 101 > Porn Surfer Glossary

AEN (Adult Entertainment Network): a membership in an AEN provides access to thousands of small porn sites for an annual fee (and to more content for a much higher monthly fee.) Previously known as Age Verification Services (AVS).

Affiliate Program: An agreement between a pay site and a referring site to pay a commission for referring a sale to the pay site.

AVI (Audio Video Interleaved): a Windows movie format that will play in your browser window

AVS (Age Verification Service, Adult Verification Service, Age Verification System): see Adult Entertaiment Network

Banner Ads: advertising in the form of banners on a web page.

Banner Farm: a Web page that is predominantly banners as opposed to content.

Bitrate: the "speed" at which digital data is transmitted per unit of time.

Blind Links: a link that looks like it will send you one place, but sends you somewhere else entirely.

Broadband Connection: a high-speed connection to the Internet, via cable, DSL or satellite.

Browser: a program, such as Internet Explorer or Firefox that is used to access websites.

Browser Window: A browser displaying a Web page; several browser windows may be open at once.

Cache: an archive of the Web pages you have recently visited.

Cancellation Clause: The clause in a Terms and Conditions Agreement detailing the subscriber's cancellation obligations.

Chat: real-time communication with another Internet user.

Circle Jerk: see Mouse Trap

Content Plug-In: Video clips, photo archives, live sex feeds or e-zines that are leased from content providers and provided to subscribers of a pay site. Also referred to as a "content feed."

Copyright: the exclusive legal right to reproduce, publish or sell media.

Cybersex: sex between two or more people over an Internet text, voice or video chat system.

Dialler: a program that reconfigures your dial-up connection so it calls a toll number and online service charges appear on your phone bill.

Digital Rights Management (DRM): a copyright protection technology for digital media whose purpose is to prevent illegal distribution of paid content over the Internet.

DivX: an MPEG-4 video format that compresses video files and allows for full-screen, high-quality playback.

Download: save video, images or another type of file to your computer.

DRM: see Digital Rights Management

Embedded Player: video displays on a section of a web page without a media player opening up in a new window.

Exclusive Content: original video or images that are either created by the site itself or licensed exclusively to it.

Exit Console: see Pop-up

E-zine: A content plug-in with a magazine format.

Feed: see Content Plug-in

Frame Rate: the number of frames per second delivered by a video (30 frames per second is television quality).

Free Site: a small porn site, usually with 50 or fewer photos, for which there is no charge.

Freehost: A Web service that hosts other sites for free, in exchange for placing their own advertising banners on the site.

Front-End see Tour

Hardcore: depictions of two or more guys having sex.

"Hidden" Cam: A voyeur web cam which broadcasts the daily routines of its subjects, which occassionally includes nudity and sex.

Internet Addiction: a disputed concept loosely defined as overuse of the Internet to the point of compromising real life relationships.

Internet Billing Company: a third-party service for billing and cancellation of online memberships.

Java: a computer language that allows applications, including chat and streaming video, to be run in your browser window.

JPEG: Joint Photographic Experts Group, the common format for pictures on the Web.

kbps: (kilobits per second) the rate at which digital data is transferred; one kilobit = 1,000 bits.

Link List: a directory of links to free, AEN and pay sites.

Live Sex: a live web-cam broadcast of one or more performers having sex.

Mirror-type tour: when the free area of a site replicates the membership area.

Mouse Trap (Circle Jerk): a navigation trap in which new browser windows keep popping up, forcing the user to close down their browser to escape.

MOV: QuickTime movie format played with the QuickTime player.

MPEG: (Moving Pictures Experts Group) - a movie format played with the Windows Media Player

Niche: a specialty market. Gay sites are often characterised as niche.

Non-Recurring: a one-time charge for one month membership to a website.

900 Number: you can sometimes pay for a porn site membership by having a one-time charge added to your phone bill.

Partner Program: see Affiliate Program

Pay-per-view: a video site that charges per minute or by scene or full-length video, as opposed to a monthly membershipl

Pay Site: a site that requires a paid membership.

Plug-in: see Content Plug-in and Software Plug-in.

Pop-up: a new browser window that "pops-up" when you click on a link or attempt to leave a site. More pop-ups may appear when you close the first (see Mouse Trap).

Progressive Download: video starts to play immediately while the file downloads to your temporary Internet files folder.

Public Domain: the end of a term of copyright; no porn images are in the public domain.

QuickTime: a popular video format (extension .mov) that is played with the Quicktime player.

Rebill: the automatic renewal of a membership at the end of a trial or monthly membership.

Real Media Format: A popular video format (extension .rm) that is played with the RealPlayer.

Review Site: a free site that reviews membership sites.

Save: download video or images to your computer.

Screen Capture: an image that reproduces a Web page.

Secure Transaction: an Internet protocol allowing confidential information to be sent from one party to another.

Streaming Video: video that plays without downloading to your computer. Sometimes "progressive downloads" are called "streaming."

Softcore (Solo): Depictions of a single model.

Software Plug-in: a free program which allows your browser to display specific types of media, such as Real Player or QuickTime.

Terms and Conditions Agreement: The contract between you and a pay site.

Thumbnail: A miniature version of an image which, when clicked on will open the full-sized image.

Thumbnail Gallery Post (TGP): A free site that posts many free galleries each day; there are always blind links on these sites.

Top List: A site that keeps track of which websites send it the most visitors and lists them in order.

Tour: the free preview area of a pay site. Some companies create several different tours for the same site.

Traffic: Web surfers

Trial: A low-cost, short-term membership for the purpose of evaluating whether to join for a longer period.

Video Capture: an image that is derived from a video, as opposed to being taken with a camera.

Video on Demand: a video site that charges per minute or by scene or full-length video, as opposed to a monthly membership.

Webcam: A camera which broadcasts live over the Internet.

Windows Media Format: a popular video format (extension .wmv) that plays in the Windows Media Player.