avatar
1. An {image} representing a user in a
multi-user {virtual reality} (or VR-like, in the case of
{Palace}) space.
2. (CMU, Tektronix) {root}, {superuser}. There are quite a
few {Unix} computers on which the name of the superuser
account is "avatar" rather than "root". This quirk was
originated by a {CMU} hacker who disliked the term
"superuser", and was propagated through an ex-CMU hacker at
{Tektronix}.
[{Jargon File}]
(1997-09-14)