Even on the Grid, people are people. They still congregate and segregate into “us” and “them.” As a social medium, the Grid is a means and a place for people to find others who share their interests, problems, and so on. It is also a yet another stage for all of the social and anti-social activities in which we engage. As such, the Grid is populated (some would say overpopulated) by sites devoted to every imaginable need, desire, curiosity, hobby, hatred, and purpose. It is not uncommon, of course, for members of these many cliques to clash or comingle, to forge connections and rivalries that span the Grid and beyond it.

And there are the many people who use the Grid to send messages, to shop, entertain themselves, and little else.

Those who care about such things tend to break down users into the following categories:

This term is used to refer to the largest section of the Grid population (by everybody else, of course). These are the people who generally don’t really think about the Grid. They definitely don’t have NIJack systems, don’t have their own domains, and don’t devote hours to tweaking their shadows. Even if they may spend large amounts of time shopping, socializing, or research on the Grid, they don’t consider the Grid as anything more than a tool. Generally speaking, don’t particularly care what the other groups of Grid users think of them; many of them don’t have much use for people who are more interested in the Grid than “real life.”

Gridizens are people who may or not have NIJacks, but almost certainly connect via a good or better GID (Grid Interface Device). The Grid is an important parts of their lives. Gridizens have friends on the gridscape who are every bit important to them as those they have in the physical world. Gridizens conduct some or much of their lives on the Grid. They know their way around their local Grid, and have their own Home Node or even their own domain. Often, gridizens get a little impatient with the unwashed masses—perhaps like an adult with a child.

Almost exclusively adolescents and young adults, Gridgrrlz and gridboyz invest significant time and energy in their shadows and on the Grid. In order to be a true member of this clique, one must have a NIJack system, though a sizeable crowd of hangers-on and wannabe’s surround the gridgrrlz and gridboyz. Much like the youth of any world or reality, gridgrrlz and gridboyz constantly jockey for social position. They constantly compare their shadows, their gear, their computer skills, their connections, and their shadow exploits.

The grrlz and boyz don’t have any use for the unwashed masses (and are almost certainly the origin of that term), often ridiculing or bullying them. Gridgrrlz and gridboyz usually reserve their greatest scorn for the gridizens, however, they see as missing the whole point of the Grid’s beauty and freedom. Most gridpilots are treated with a certain amount of respect, though a gridpilot’s actual profession colors her status significantly. Gridcops, for example, tend to be feared and hated, while gridrunners are often held as heroes.

Gridpilots are professionals. They are people with NIJacks and excellent or better GIDs, better than average computer skills and the talent and savvy to make their living on the Grid. Despite being a relatively small population, gridpilots are also perhaps the most diverse. They include grid program crafters, data miners and merchants, gridcops and gridspies, and, of course, the infamous gridrunners.

It is impossible to make general statements about the way that gridpilots view the other denizens of the Grid. Most are keenly aware of their elite position, but their similarities end there.

The Digerati are those gridpilots who spend their lives on the Grid. Many are actually on life support systems in the physical world that allow them to live their lives completely immersed. While the Digerati leave the outside world behind with all of its pleasures and beauties behind, but they feel that they gain much more on the Grid. Aside from the AIs, the Digerati are the masters of the Grid, even though most of them are almost as anonymous and isolated as the AIs themselves. The Digerati are most skilled and knowledgeable gridpilots on the Grid, always having the best gear and the most unique and powerful shadows.

The Digerati are as diverse as gridpilots in general, though they do tend to be even more aware and jealous of their status. They often they socialize almost exclusively with other Digerati or gridpilots, hiding their true identities if they must deal with their lesser.

Considered by some to be the gods of the Grid, AIs are more real on the Grid than they are in the physical world, and much more powerful. Extremely rare, they fill rooms or buildings with electronics on the outside, but can be the most beautiful and graceful (or terrible and hideous) beings on the Grid. AIs are utterly alien to organic sentient beings, having intellects and perspectives, needs and goals, that the other peoples of the Grid can only imagine. Very little is know of the lives that AIs lead on the Grid. While some few publicly socialize with other sentient beings, others prefer the company of other AIs or disguise themselves as common gridpilots.

In retrospect, it’s not at all surprising that the Grid became a haven for organized, formal duels shortly after its inception. As an environment suited to combat but unlikely to prove lethal, the introduction of dueling seemed like a logical—even inevitable development. Yet the earliest users of the Grid used the technology only for the most abstract of duels in forms of simulated mass combat and gunplay. Only after the introduction of PL 6 technology did recognized dueling societies first appear. In some ways, these societies resemble martial arts schools; each society had a single charismatic founder who developed its techniques, code, and philosophy of Grid combat.

Most Grid duelists call themselves shadowboxers and are rightly proud of their abilities. They fight for prestige, for bragging rights and for the joy and rush they get from combat. Shadowboxing is principally a sport for young males who have not yet settled into the rhythms of work and duty. For some communities, dueling is a juvenile aberration, discouraged or even prosecuted by Grid authorities. A few groups view it as a healthy outlet for aggression, or even sponsor competitions between teams, with hardware or cash prizes for the victors.

Like sports teams, dueling societies often build a reputation and a following that outlast their founders. A few of these societies have become Grid franchises, with their duels watched with millions of fans.

In the most famous groups are the Insight Alliance, the Aleer All-Stars, Manchester United, and the Black Hand. The Insight Alliance is known for innovative software and tactics, as well as for understanding how to please the crowds. The all-mechalus Aleer All-Stars are fast and trained almost from birth; even the most ardent fans of opposing teams admit that the All-Stars are fluid, graceful combatants. Manchester United is an all-human powerhouse of youthful fanatics named after a Terran sport team. The Black Hand takes its name from an Asian criminal organization popularized in Hollywood films of the 21st century. Its members remain anonymous, but many believe they recruit from among the best 'boxers of the tournament circuit. A few rumors even claim that the Black Hand is actually a group of AI masquerading as biological gridpilots.

A few arenas have long been associated with the sport of shadowboxing. These include the Black Sun in the Terran Grid, the Aleer Eshtal of the Aleeran Grid, the Mystery Box in the Insight Grid, the Red Arena of the AI Free Zone, the Oz Civic Arena in the Austrin-Ontis Unlimited Grid, and the Ultimate Cage of the Regency Grid in the Verge. While each of the arenas sells the privilege of observing fights, it also takes bets on the outcome and awards badges of rank. Despite numerous attempts to streamline the hierarchy and standing of shadowboxers, the sport remains fragmented, with at least a half-dozen claimants to the title of “Grid Shadowboxing Champion.”