Glossary of Geni Terms

This Glossary is a Work in Progress (WIP) of terms and abbreviations known to many users as "technical jargon" and will be updated as required.

It is hoped that the Glossary will provide answers to the challenges posed by some of the terminology used for working with the Geni software application not understood by users, thus reducing the need to search FAQs or other websites for explanations of abbreviations or technical language.

The explanations have been simplified as far as possible. If the meaning of words is still unclear or if you have any further concerns not already addressed in this Glossary, post your queries at:

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ATTENTION IT Specialists and Engineers please respond==

Need to know genealogy terms? Go here: Abbreviations & Acronyms for Genealogy

1. address bar - (see also link & URL). The address box, location bar, or URL bar is the text box used to enter a website's address in a browser.
2. aka - also known as, alias.
3. Alert or Alert box - a message that appears on the screen to tell you usually that something went wrong.
4. API - application programming interface (specifies how some software components should interact with each other)
5. APPX - appendix.
6. Application - program in which you do your work.
7. Background - a program can run and perform tasks in the background while another program is being used in the foreground.
8. BMD - Birth Marriage Death.
9. Blog - also called a weblog, is a discussion or information web page that presents short articles in reverse chronological order, newest first.
10. Blogger - person writing a blog.
11. Browser - (see also web browser). A program with a graphical user interface (GUI) used to navigate the World Wide Web (www).
12. Bud - a node on the tree that is not connected to a blood relative.
13. Bug - problem or conflict in the programming (affects portions of the site).
14. C18 - 18th Century etc.
15. Cache or Caching - stores recently used information (a page or image you have recently seen) so that it can be accessed quickly at a later time, thereby improves computer performance.
16. Claimed user - a user who has claimed their profile/node on Geni.
17. Connected user - Anyone who is connected to you via your Forest and can find you through the search feature, or your tree.
18. Cookie - a small piece of information/file stored on your computer.
19. Default - preset setting.
20. dob - date of birth.
21. dod - date of death.
22. DOW - Died of wounds.
23. DPI - dots per inch, a gauge of visual clarity on the screen or printed page.
24. Drag and Drop - also "drag-and-drop"- a common action, involves moving the cursor over an object, selecting it, and moving it to a new location.
25. Drop down menu - a menu that drops down from an existing field with pre selected options'
26. DVP - de Villiers Pama numbering system, common on the South African tree.
27. Embedded text / link - most simple form of hyperlink.
28. Font - typeface.
29. FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions.
30. FGRA - Family Group Record Archives.
31. FHC - Family History Center.
32. Field - space provided for entry of information (pasted, chosen from a menu).
33. Flash - a software program that allows animated images to be viewed over the Internet.
34. Flip node - the person's 'Box' in the tree, shows photo, name, edit-info button, view tree button, field to enter email address.
35. Focus node - the tree owner of a currently viewed tree.
36. FTB - Family Tree Builder.
37. FTM - Family Tree Maker.
38. GB - Genealogy Bank.
39. GC - Gregorian Calendar.
40. GEDCOM - Abbreviation of Genealogy Data Communication (exportable from Geni to other programs that accept GEDCOM files).
41. Genealogy Editor - application that enables you to load, edit and save a genealogical database.
42. GENTECH - an organization bridging Genealogy and Technology.
43. GIF - image file that and compressed to reduce transfer time.
44. GIG - a gigabyte - 1024 megabytes
45. GM - grandmother.
46. GF - grandfather (etc).
47. GGF - great grandfather (etc)
48. g.r - grave record.
49. Half sibling - two nodes with exactly one parent node in common.
50. HTML - Hyper Text Mark-up Language.
51. HTTP - (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol) Used to communicate between web servers and users who access their information. When a web browses talks to a web server they use a language known as "http".
52. Hyperlink - (or "link") a graphic or piece of text in an internet document that connects you to another file or object. Shows as aq single word or group of words usually underlined and clearly shown as blue in color.
53. Hypertext - this is text with hyperlinks.
54. Icon - a graphic symbol for an application, file, folder or Geni project.
55. In-Law trees - trees connected to you (or your tree) by marriage.
56. Java script - dynamic computer programming language.
57. JPEG or JPG - common file format for digital photos and other digital graphics.
58. LDS - Latter Day Saints (Mormons).
59. Link - word or symbol that contain information, when clicked will direct the user to a new page or open a new window. (see URL)
60. MP - Master Profile
61. Maximum Family Group - your default family group, including in-laws connected through ex's.
62. MB - Megabyte
63. Meta tag - a tag in HTML that inserted top of a Web page provides keywords for use by search engines.
64. MIA - missing in action.
65. Navigation Bar - vertical or horizontal section to aid users in travelling through the document.
66. Node - the person's "box" in the tree, shows a photo, name, edit-info button and tree-view button and invite the person to your family through entering the person's email on the node.
67. Notifications - Geni. When checked in your account preferences, tells Geni to send you a list of the activity of your family and friends that took place in the last day.
68. OCR - Optical Character Recognition.
69. PAF - Personal Ancestral File.
70. Parse - breaking up text. Used in reading computer code.
71. Platform - an underlying computer system on which application programs can run. Geni is a platform.
72. Pop-up Menu - a menu that does not appear at the top of a screen in the menu bar (may pop up or down)'
73. Post - a single response by any participant in the thread (discussion) of a forum.
74. Refresh - to cause an updated version of a web page to appear on the computer screen / to cause the computer memory again in order to show any new information. PC - press F 5; Mac - command + R.
75. SIG - Special Interest Group.
76. SMTP - Simple Mail Transfer Protocol, an Internet standard for transmitting mail.
77. SSDI - Social Security Death Index (USA).
78. Stub profile - every person on the tree gets their own profile page. A profile page that is empty or is nearly empty is called a "stub" profile.
79. Sync - short for synchronize, eg matching your phone's contacts to those on your computer.
80. Tag (metadata) - describes an item and allows it to be found again by browsing or searching.
81. Tag (within Geni discussions) - tag a profile by using the @ symbol and start typing the name of a profile on Geni to tag it to your post.
82. Tag - attach document or image files to Geni profile(s) & projects.
83. Thread - Discussion
84. Upload - to send a file from one computer to another through a network.
85. URL - address of a specific web site or file on the internet. (Uniform Resource Locator). (see link). For example: "What is google's URL?" "Easy! www.google.com"
86. VR - Vital Record.
87. WDYTYA - Who do you think you are. (the TV series)
88. Web browser - when you look at web pages you are using a "web browser" eg. Internet Explorer, Firefox etc.
89. WFT - The World Family Tree (Geni), also known as the "big tree" by longtime Geni users, is a single, shared family tree that connects all users.
90. Zombie - an historical profile wrongly marked as living.

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Internet slang / acronyms:

1. AFAIK - As Far As I Know.
2. AAMOF - As A Matter Of Fact.
3. AFK - Away From Keyboard.
4. B4N - Bye For Now.
5. BRB - Be Right Back.
6. CTO - Chief Technology Officer.
7. FWIW - For What Its Worth.
8. GIGO - Garbage in, Garbage out.
9. IMHO - In My Humble Opinion.
10. IRL - In Real Life.
11. JK - Just Kidding.
12. KISS - Keep It Simple Stupid.
13. LOL - Laugh Out Loud (could also used to mean Lots of Love)
14. MTE - My Thoughts Exactly.
15. NIH- Not Invented Here.
16. NOYB - None Of Your Business.
17. OTOH - On The Other Hand.
18. RTFM - Read The "Bleeping"Manual.
19. ROFL - Rolling On The Floor Laughing.
20. Troll, trolling - Disruptive person who starts arguments or upsets discussions.
21. TMI - Too Much Information.
22. TTFN - Ta-TA For Now.
23. VoIP - Voice Over Internet Protocol.

Sources:

• Geni Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) See footer at the bottom of every Geni page.