Goblin Terminology

A far-from-exhaustive list of terms needed to be a big brain goblin.

Age Gate

An age gate is the pop-up you see on many sites that will ask for a date of birth or say "Are you 18? Yes/No" These are a first line of defense against minors entering an adult space. Instructions for installing a simple age gate can be found under the article for Shopify.

Alginate

A material which is mixed with water and then hardens to form a soft mold acceptable for temporary or one time use. Very common during life casting as skin safe alginates are cheap and common, and because they harden in only a few minutes. Alginates are available in both liquid and powder forms.

AVS

Age verification system. These are systems often offered by third party companies that check a customer's information to attempt to verify their age before allowing them to check out.

Bio-compatible

Most often, this is referencing that a material is known to be safe and non-reactive (like surgical steel/titanium/some plastics) or that it has passed ISO 10993-10 Skin Sensitivity certification for bio-compatibility.  Something that is bio-compatible is safe in a specific context but not necessarily in ALL contexts. An example would be a material that is safe to touch the skin but is not safe to be in contact with food.

Body Safe

Used to tell customers that a product is safe. What makes something body safe is decided by each maker and is often backed by using only materials that are certified skin safe, cleared for cosmetic use and from reputable suppliers; and/or has a long history of use in similar products. 

Butt Art

Drawing, swirling, or painting that is done on the base of the toy, usually while it is still in the mold. This ranges from companies like Kisu and Friends who recreated "The Great Wave" in multiple colors of silicone, to the more common and approachable "latte art" done by dragging a mixing stick or toothpick through the liquid silicone after it starts to thicken but before it has jelled.

Cart Hold

In ecommerce, a cart hold is when placing an item into the cart reserves the item so it cannot be purchased by other customers. The three most common ecommerce solutions do NOT have a cart hold feature available. The first person to complete checkout, not the first person to add an item to their cart, will get the item. This can cause serious confusion for customers who are new to shopping drops. CS emails from customers who believe it was the shop who removed items from their shopping carts are not rare.

CS

Customer Service

CSXX

An example is CS18 or Con Sig 18. These are named pours from different years and are done by Bad Dragon. The name stands for Convention Signature and the year.

Custom

Alternatively "Full Custom;" a toy made to customer specifications and is more specialized than an MTO but does not usually include any change that would require building a new mold.

Compat

Shorthand for Compat 45. A mold making material manufactured by Smooth-On that is generally not recommended for indie adult novelty manufacturing.

Degassing

Using a vacuum chamber to pull trapped bubbles and dissolved gasses out of the silicone before it is poured into the mold.

Deglossing

When a shiny silicone toy loses its gloss finish. This can happen from normal wear and tear, as the surfaces of super soft silicones have their glossy finishes easily buff down to a satin; or it can be from accidents like chemical or high heat exposure.

Delamination

The peeling or separation of one part of a toy from another. Unlike a tear, this is not a rip of the bulk material but a separation between layers of material; and happens at the interface of splits, under and around drips, or at silicone inclusions. This is a rare but potentially more serious flop.

Drips

Can refer to a pour style where silicone is dripped into the mold and allowed to partially cure before the mold is filled, giving a dripping color effect; or it can refer to a drip of color seen on a toy where the stream of silicone that was poured into the mold accidentally touched the side wall and created a break in the pour style.

Drop Help

Seen in the context of "I need drop help for the FG drop." This is a request for a second person to help the requester attempt to get an item of interest. If the person providing drop help succeeds, they will change their shipping information or reship it themselves to the interested party. This is a concrete example of the connectedness and collaboration of the indie community.

DNI

Do Not Interact. On social media this term is used to inform people of who or what the user does not want to interact with. An example would be "MAPS/PEDOS/ZOOS/NONCON DNI" which means people posting pedophilia, bestialities, or non consensual/rape are unwelcome by that user. In a world with more good goblins in it this would be less necessary, but it's a dark place out there sometimes.

Drops

When a shop adds a bumper crop of new items to their store all at once. One of the two most common shop setups along with MTOs.

DS

Shorthand for Dragon Skin. A series of silicone casting materials manufactured by Smooth-On that are commonly used for indie adult novelty manufacturing.

EF

Shorthand for Eco Flex. A series of silicone casting materials manufactured by Smooth-On that are the most commonly used materials for indie adult novelty manufacturing.

ETSY

A marketplace / platform used by makers to sell toys. To customers, it presents as a shared marketplace somewhat similar to Amazon or eBay.

Fades

A pour style where a color fades from one to the next. It is sometimes accomplished by pouring a centimeter of color at a time and mixing more and more of a second color into the pour cup as the toy fills to create the gradient. Other techniques involve layering transparent colors in a pour cup and using a thin stream pour to ensure they mix as they fill the mold.

Flame Test

A test used to identify if a material is silicone or something else. These tests are often unreliable due to differences between silicones used in the indie adult novelty world and the ones the test was originally intended for, and because interpreting the results is subjective and requires a better point of reference than is often available.

Flop

A term used for a toy that has something wrong with it. This can range from a cosmetic flop where the use of the toy is not compromised, to a turbo flop that should not be used.

Food Safe

Referring to raw materials that are acceptable for use in, on, or around food. The term food safe is usually regulated.

Frankenpour

Also called a mishap, which confusingly is sometimes used for flops. These are pours that did not come out as intended. Maybe the sunset gold was more of a bright orange, or the colors mixed together and became muddy, or the marbling came out loose instead of tight. Some shops may discount some types of frankenpours, while others find that customers love frankenpours for their unique nature and sell them as regular items.

GITD

Glow In The Dark. Accomplished by adding a GITD powder to the silicone.

Goblin

The term used in indie adult novelty to refer to anyone who owns or works for a shop, but can sometimes refer to enthusiasts as well.

Grinder

What, like the sandwich? A grinder is a toy used for external stimulation by rubbing or "grinding" against it. Examples are often a flat pad with raised texture like the tentacle grinders by Uncover Creations, but they come in many variations from built-in insertables to open pens.

Heat Yellowing

The imperceptible-to-slight discoloration of soft silicones in response to exposure to heat. Occurs most often from being boiled to sanitize or being left in a car or other hot storage for extended periods of time.

Highlight/Skin

A pour style where a thin skin of one color is coated onto the surface of a mold and then a second color is used to backfill. This creates a highlighting effect around edges and details.

Inclusions

May refer to purposeful inclusions such as silicone confetti that is fully bound into the toy, or it may refer to foreign matter that has accidentally made its way into the toy.

Inspo

Short for inspiration. Pictures, often of things other than toys, that customers share with makers to give them ideas for pours.

Leaching

The slow process of chemicals coming out of the silicone. This is not necessarily dangerous, and an example readily seen is the leaching of silicone oil when a soft toy is placed on a porous surface such as a piece of paper. After a few days, a ring of oil will be left behind on the porous surface. Leaching should be taken into consideration as a potential means for things like lake dyes to move through the silicone and expose a customer.

Life Casting

Making a mold from a biological source such as a person or a plant.

Listing

The page on a website used to sell an item. Listings may cover one unique item or may offer options to select from multiple items.

Maker

Someone who makes indie toys, normally through a shop.

Maw

A toy that is designed to be a mouth, maw, or snoot.

Master

The original sculpt or 3D print that molds are made from.

Medical Grade

Used to tell customers that a product is safe. Often misleading and generally frowned upon in indie adult novelty manufacturing.

Microbubbles

Bubbles smaller than 1mm that are often caused by not fully vacuum degassing silicone. They are concerning to customers as they impact the aesthetics of the toy, and any bubbles near the surface can rupture to create tiny and deep pits that harbor bacteria.

Mold Release

A spray, gel, or liquid coating applied to molds to keep silicone toys from chemically adhering to silicone molds.

Mold Swell

The swelling of molds over time due to absorption of silicone oils and solvents during use.

MS

Shorthand for Mold Star. A series of mold materials manufactured by Smooth-On that are commonly used for indie adult novelty manufacturing.

MTO

"Made To Order" This usually means toys that are ordered by the customer by picking from some limited number of options.

Muddy

When colors in a pour have blended together when originally, what was desired was for them to remain separate and give crisp marbling or feathering. A common challenge when first learning to use silc-pig electric. An example would be wanting a vibrant marbling of red and blue, but the colors were not mixed to be opaque enough and instead a muddled mixture of purples results.

Named Color

A color or pour that has been given its own name. Rather than "red/orange/gold" a shop may name this "Dragon's Breath." Named colors are sometimes specific colors and pours that a maker can reproduce on demand (within reason) and may be offered as options for MTOs.

Near Clear / NC

A brand of silicone that is much clearer than most silicones. Useful for making colors pop and adding depth to pours. Often sold with a significant markup because of the increased difficulty in using Near Clear.

NIB

New In Bag. Lets people who are responding to WTS/WTT listings on the secondhand market know that the toy is new and has never left the bag. Depending on where this is being used, it may or may not increase the value of the item by a meaningful amount. Toys are easily sanitized and long-lasting, so for many people NIB is not of great concern.

Non-Porous

A material that pathogens like bacteria do not easily adhere to or become trapped inside of. Often mistakenly thought of in the same sense as impermeable, which silicone is not.

NV / 10NV

Shorthand for Dragon Skin 10 NV. A mold material manufactured by Smooth-On that is generally not recommended for indie adult novelty manufacturing due to interactions and cure inhibition with other materials.

Open Pen

A penetrable / grindable hybrid design first popularized by the Lycantasy Serpent Interface.

Ovipositor

A toy that is designed so that eggs can be deposited out of it or pushed through it into the user.

Packer

A toy design to be worn inside the clothing to simulate external genitalia. Usually used for purposes of maximizing gender euphoria and flagging others to view the wearer as their correct sex.

Partners In Slime

Goblin partners. Can recognize each other by their screams and patterns of sticky silicone stains on their clothes.

Pen

Shorthand for a penetrable toy. These may be commonly known as a "fleshlight" or "pocketpussy" in the wider adult world; but these terms are frowned upon in the indie world, as goblins are inclusive folk who make efforts to not dictate other people's bodies.

Platinum Cure

Also known as addition-cure silicone. Usually the reason for saying "Platinum Cure" instead of just "Silicone" is to express that the material is safe and high quality.

PlatSil

A series of platinum cure silicones made by PolyTek that is gaining popularity with EU/UK makers.

Pot Life

The amount of time between when you start mixing together a two part material and when it becomes too viscous to use.

Pour Style

Refers to the way the silicone is mixed and poured into the mold to create its coloration. Examples include splits, ribbons, tight ribbons, drips, and fades.

Preshop

A preview period where customers can see items that will be included in a drop but cannot purchase them yet. There are several methods of doing this, but the most commonly used is for items to be listed with zero in inventory, so that the listing can be viewed but not purchased. At drop time the listings are updated from zero to one in stock, making them available. This was first used by Kristen at Pleasure Forge as a way to combat impulse buys / buyer's remorse being driven by the lack of a cart hold feature within Shopify.

Pull

Removing a toy from a mold.

Resin

May refer to the raw material used in SLA 3D printers, or to liquid casting compounds like epoxies and urethanes.

Ribbons

Alternatively "Marbles;" pour styles where the colors are poured into the mold together and the dynamic mixing from the pour stream creates a ribbon- or marble-like effect. Tight ribbons refers to very fine and high frequency patterning while loose ribbons refers to the opposite.

RR/BRR

Rainbow Ribbon. Specifically, a named pour by Bad Dragon that is highly sought after; but also may be used for other rainbow marbles by other shops.

Sanitize

To reduce the number of viable pathogens to a safe level. Most cleaning activities result in sanitization, including boiling. Removing ALL pathogens from a surface requires the use of techniques like pressure sterilization or EO gas and is referred to as sterilizing.

Sheath/Penis Sheath

A hollow toy designed to go over or around a person's genitalia or other object, such that it can then be used for penetration. One of a group of wearables.

Shop

One of the businesses that engages in making indie adult novelties.

Shopify

An e-commerce provider that allows makers to build and run ecommerce shops that have a more independent appearance to customers versus combined marketplaces like Etsy.

Shore Firmness

A measurement of the firmness of a material. Indie toys tend to be substantially softer than the silicone most people are familiar with and uses the 00 shore firmness scale, which is an order of magnitude softer than the more common A scale.

Silc Pig

A series of common liquid pigments for silicone manufactured by Smooth-On.

Silicone

A room temperature vulcanizing (RTV) elastomer generally sold as a two part system of viscous liquids. Translation: A soft and squishy rubber that is sold as two thick liquids you mix together.

Slide STD

A silicone additive that gives silicone a silky feel and when used in molds can reduce or eliminate the need for mold release. Slide STD is not applicable for adult novelty manufacture because it causes reactions in people with tree nut allergies and reduces the lifespan of cured silicone.

Specs

The specifications of a toy. Usually used in reference to size measurements but sometimes references firmness.

Splits

A pour style where one color is first poured into the mold and then a second is added after it to create separate areas of solid color. Splits may be "Hard" where the first color is allowed to partially cure, giving a strong delineation between the colors; or "Soft" where the second color is added while the first is still a liquid, creating a slightly mixed interface.

Squishy

Small silicone items made by shops that exist purely for the pleasure of having them and are not intended for use as an adult novelty. Examples include silicone banana slugs sold by Wyverns Vault and tokens made by The Wicked Hunt.

Sterilize

To make something completely free of viable pathogens. Often used incorrectly in place of sanitize.

Teenies

Woodies, Forgelings, Dicklets... there are many names for tiny versions of full sized toys sold as novelties. Teenies are collected and traded and fall under the broader category of squishes. Teenies are not meant to be usable and are often made from leftover scrap silicone with odd inclusions and bubbles.

UL / OL

Usable length / overall length. The usable length is the length of the toy that is meant to be used. A 7" long toy with a thick 2" long base would have 5" of usable length and 7" overall. Customers care about both measurements, as UL lets the customer know how much can be inserted, while the difference between UL and OL gives them an idea of how high off a surface the UL portion will sit and how much can be used as a handle.

Victory Lap

A victory lap is the time makers usually wait between when someone invents something new and unique and when they release similar designs or pours. It is done to reward creativity that ultimately benefits the entire segment and as a courtesy between small business owners who understand the effort, time, and expense that goes into developing new ideas.

Wearable

Toys that are designed to be worn by the user. Examples are sheaths and packers.

WTS/WTT

Want to Sell / Want to Trade. The indie community has an active secondhand market where toys are both sold and traded; often NIB.

Vacuum Chamber / Pump

A chamber that cups of silicone are placed into for degassing.

XTC / XTC3D

A two part epoxy-like material designed to create a smooth surface on 3d prints while being compatible with silicone molding. XTC requires a very clean and oil-free surface to avoid building up an orange-peel effect on the surface.