Official Terminology Reference · Publication IAD-GL-2026
Ghosting n.
The unannounced, complete cessation of contact by one party. The Institute's interest is not in the ghost but in the subject's response: the "you good?", the follow-up, the third message into a silence that has already answered the question.
Ghosting is information. The subject's error is requesting a second copy.
The non-reply was the closure. There is no other envelope coming.
Representative usage
She stopped replying on Tuesday. He sent "did I do something?" on Saturday. The silence had already filed its report.
IAD Case Reference GH-2026-014.