Flaking

Flaking is when a player drops out of a game without warning or reason; sometimes there are legitimate reasons, such as extended illness or computer/Internet access problems, but sometimes a player just loses interest or leaves the site altogether. Either way, the problem usually results in the Game Moderator having to find a replacement, although sometimes they will modkill a player if no replacement can be found in a timely manner.

Compare with lurking, when a player is still reading/involved with a game but does not contribute meaningfully.