[in Hindu mythology, the incarnation of a god]
1. Among people working on virtual reality and {cyberspace}
interfaces, an avatar is an icon or representation of a user in a
shared virtual reality. The term is sometimes used on {MUD}s.
2. [CMU, Tektronix] {root}, {superuser}. There are quite a few Unix
machines on which the name of the superuser account is `avatar'
rather than `root'. This quirk was originated by a CMU hacker who
found the terms root and superuser unimaginative, and thought
`avatar' might better impress people with the responsibility they
were accepting.
[glossary]
[Reference(s) to this entry by made by: {frag}{root}{superuser}{toor}]