RED ALERT

When you want to play Red Alert over the 'net you'll find yourself chatting to others. Here are some abbreviations and other jargon often used on WChat and other places where RA games are played. It soon becomes quite easy to read these and it saves a lot of typing:

:-) :) ;-) ;) :]	A smiley (used to mean laughing or to show the last sentence was meant as humourous).
<---ladder name	"My ladder name is the same as my Westwood Chat nickname".
12xx	See 'rank'
2v2	Play cooperatively with 2 humans against 2 computers. This may change when version 3 of Red Alert is released.
AI	"Computer player"
ALT F4	A joke often played by experienced players who want to reduce the number of newbies on WChat. Pressing ALT-F4 closes WChat, regardless of what anyone else says it does!
AM	"Aftermath" game
a/s/l	What is your Age/Sex/Location?
b4	before
bbrains	My WChat nickname. If you want to talk to me then you may find me on WChat.
brb	Be Right Back
C&C2	Officially C&C2 is Tiberium Sun, the sequel to Red Alert and the third in the C&C series. Some people still refer to Red Alert as C&C2 though.
Cases	A "Cases ladder" game. See 'ladder game'
coop,co-op	A co-operative game. Usually means the 2 human players team up against one or more AI players in the game. (See Maxi Co-ops for a new way to play this)
CS	"CounterStrike" game.
Dis	Distract (from Sole Survivor)
EvW	East versus West. Used in a 4 player game when it is finally released. When the game starts you will usually find that two players are on the Eastern side of the map and two are on the West. The players will ally in those pairs.
flooding	Sending the same message repeatedly in a few seconds.
fun (game)	Any game not to be played as part of any ladder or tournament. However, it still may be taken 100% seriously.
fusion	A "Fusion Co-operative" game.
GD	Global Defence. A new way to play Red Alert by helping your side to win the world war.
GF	Game Fortress. Another way to play Red Alert in a ranking system to prove you are the best
hehe	denotes laughing
HelpBot	A computerised helper on WChat. It automatically kicks out people who swear and can give you limited help if you try priving it.
host	The player who sets up the game. "i host" means 'I want to host', "u host" means they want you to set it up.
invite	If someone else sets up a game they may invite you to join their channel. This can be done as normal, but nobody else can join the game so you won't get the 'channel full' error.
IP address	A unique name/number describing each computer on the internet. Sometimes used to set up games, but not over WChat.
KALI	Another place to play internet games. Similar to WChat.
kick	When a host removes someone from a chat room they are referred to as being kicked out.
kotg	"Keep Off The Grass". A favourite map of many of the top players.
ladder game	A game which will change your rank on the ladder. There are several Red Alert ladders, the main ones being the official Westwood tournament and Cases ladder.
ladder name	"What is your ladder name?". Used when playing in a non-Westwood tournament where matches have to be reported.
lag	Lots of lag means the game will run slowly.
latency	see 'lag'
lol	'Laugh Out Loud'
maxi	A co-operative map with a new challenge.
mega(map)	Any map larger than those that came with the original RA. Usually only playable with the Aftermath CD.
ne1 4	"Anyone for" (usually follwed by 'a game')
nsc	"New Southern California 1947". A bland custom map with loads of gems. Often played by tank rushers.
nurple (map)	A map which has had some characteristics changed. Usually everything is cheaper and faster.
page (me)	Use the locate/page function to send a message to someone not in your current channel.
ppl	people
priv,prv	A "Private message"
RA	"Red Alert"
rank 12xx	Someone who is on the ladder (usually Case's) and is ranked (in this example) between 1200 and 1299.
report	In non-Westwood ladder systems, often the loser has to report any losses he suffers. However, some people do not. Often there are arguments about someone not reporting and all involved gets a bad name.
RMM	"Real Multiplayer Mission"
Sole Survivor	A C&C style game where you control only one unit and try to remain alive with 49 others around you!
squelch	Choosing to ignore messages from a particular person (eg someone who is flooding) involves squelching them. Someone once said if 10 people squelch a person he is automatically kicked out, but I don't know if this is true.
SS	See Sole Survivor
sysop	SYStem OPerator. Means someone who officially is from the chat server.
tank rusher	Someone who uses the 'tank rush' strategy of just building tanks as fast as possible.
TEN	Another place to play internet games. Similar to WChat.
TS	Tiberian Sun. The sequel to Red Alert.
u	"you"
UltRA	"Ultimate Red Alert". A RULES.INI file which used to be played often before Aftermath.
W95	"Windows '95"
WChat	"Westwood Chat"
whisper	See 'priv'
WRU	Where are you (in the world)?

There are quite a lot of phrases here, but remember, it is quite easy to have WChat open at the same time as this page in W95 so you can refer to it if there's something you don't understand. For instance, someone may type:
ne1 4 kotg AM? rank <3xx. i host. Prv rank translates to:
"Does anyone want to play an AfterMath game playing on 'Keep Off The Grass' map? I am looking for players ranked 399 or better (usually meaning (s)he is ranked around 400). I want to host the game. Send a private message to me with your rank if you want to play." ;-)

© Brian Bird, IncREDible Alert,
http://ra.tiberiumsun.com