Looking through the rubble of my real life after six months on Open Salon (translation: I started cleaning off the piles on my desk), I uncovered this partial glossary to OS.  Perhaps others have found the missing fragments - if so, please share them below in Comments or on your blog, for the good of all of OS.  Who knows, if I'd only found this sooner, maybe my life would have turned out differently.  I offer it forthwith to save other OSers. ~ Ed.

OSaycanyousee! (imperative) – A plea in a blog posting for others to understand your views or life experiences.

OSbackward (adj) – 1) Wanting other members to read and comment on your blog without reciprocating on theirs, or 2) More generally, violating group norms that you haven’t picked up on.

OSberger’s Disease (noun) – The inability to stop reading and posting on OS in a compulsive and yet often near-genius fashion.

OScar-worthy (adj) – A post so good that if this were Top Chef or Survivor, the writer would have won the car.

OSculation (noun) – Expressing genuine affection for another OS member.  Not to be confused with OS-kissing (see below).

OSelot (adj) – What your family says when asked about you (“She’s on OSelot.”)

OSif (multiple) – 1) A statement of disbelief about something suggested by another poster,  2) Pretending to feel more confident about your place in the OS pecking order than you really feel, thus behaving OSif your posts are widely read, in the hopes of producing what you’re feigning.  (See also: “Fake it till you make it,” “The Secret,” and similar philosophies, especially if they’ve ever been featured on Oprah.)

OShole (noun) – 1) The collapse of the time-space continuum that occurs when you log on to OS for “just a few minutes” and disappear for hours from your real life.  2) The place you end up digging yourself into when you try to explain a post or comment that offended other OSers.

OS-kissing (noun, adj) – Expressing false affection or admiration for another OS member or his/her posts, in order to gain favor resulting in ratings and comments on your own posts.

OSlo (noun) – Often mistakenly thought to be a city in Norway, but actually the sinking feeling you get when very few people come to read your blog posting. Recent scientific research confirms the long-held theory that this occurs most often with posts that you really, really like.  (See also “Sally Field effect.”)
 
OSmosis (noun) – The process of being absorbed into the OS community in a Borg-like fashion.

OSoteric (adj) – Something that only other OSers would understand, like this glossary.

OSsuary (adj, noun) – 1) Feeling hesitant about joining OS, out of fear that one’s life will never be the same again, 2) A place where unappreciated OS posts are given a decent burial.

OSteer (verb) – Pointing other members towards a post you think deserves attention.

OSten (noun) – Often mistakenly thought to be the capital of Texas, but actually 1) the moment your 10th blog posting goes up and you realize you are hooked, or 2) the first time the ratings on one of your posts hits double digits.

OStentatious (adj) – Calling attention to yourself in order to get more people to read your posts, by means such as self-promoting in the Comments section of other people’s blogs, or writing inflammatory posts or headlines.

OStimate (noun) – The amount of time you think it’s going to take you to read or post on OS when you sit down at the computer (See also:  grOSs underOStimate).

OStracism (noun) – The process of trying desperately to remember where in the world you made a particular comment so you can go back and see if the blog’s owner responded to you.

OStrich (noun, verb) – 1) Poster who ignores the obvious (e.g., that no one is responding to their tirades), 2) To hide one’s self from disturbing events occurring either on OS or in the world.  (“He loved my blog but then I posted about torture, and he OStriched on me.”)

OSum (adj) – A hideously popular term of approval which should never be used by anyone over the age of 18.  Or under the age of 18.  Ever again.  Never.

OSsumption (noun) – The swallowing up of normal life by OS.