Teleporting is the act of going from one location to another instantaneously. There are multiple ways to teleport in Second Life, such as going to a location by using the world map or search.
Previously, from SL 1.1 to 1.8, direct (P2P: point-to-point) teleportation could only be done by offering another resident a teleport from their profile. All other attempts to teleport to a location would send the resident to the nearest telehub.
Before SL 1.1, direct teleportation was possible but cost L$ based on the distance a resident was from their destination. So the further a resident was from a location, the more it would cost to teleport to it.
If the SL grid is experiencing difficulties, teleport may be unavailable. An unstable environment may also result in a slightly malfunctioning teleport, resulting in the traveling avatar arriving at the destination in a shape not assigned to that avatar. See also Ruth.