axis

An axis is a component of a coordinate system. In SL the 3 axes are the x (red, forward/back, horizontal) axis, y (green,left/right, horizontal) axis, and z (blue, up/down, vertical) axis.

Note: in traditional, Cartesian-coordinate systems (basic algebra and geometry), the x-axis is left/right, the z-axis is forward/back, and the y-axis is vertical, not the z-axis, which can be quite confusing and frustrating. Why SL and some 3D modellers (3D Studio Max) have to be different, I don't know! Would be nice to have an option to switch the vertical axis like Maya does. -Eep Quirk

Difference of opinion. Most algebra is treated on a 2-dimensional plane first, with X and Y being the axes used for that. Z is used for depth. So most algebra and geometry is actually working from an 'overhead' view from my point of view when I learned the topics back in the 6th thru 8th US grades. Most games (Quake, Unreal, et all) work the same. X and Y form the default plane of movement, Z is treated as depth, because most level design is still done as a series of layers of 2D 'floors' like in real life buildings. 3D Studio Max is the most-used video-game modeller, ergo why it has the same idealogy. - WolfWings

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coordinate