[quote=@shylarah]Benchmark how I've heard it used doesn't mean what it seems to be used to mean here.  Might someone elaborate?[/quote]
Narc is better with this one, but essential it is a set of acquired attributes given based on experience, training, and study. Like how Hanako’s character, Rael, can decipher herbs from one another or how she is faster because of her conditioning and experiences. 

[quote=@shylarah]Do real-world skills carry over in any way to the game?  For example, would a good dancer be better at similar tasks in the virtual world?  And relatedly, would skill as a /gamer/ give any benefits?[/quote]
Skill as gamer would give no benefits from a skillset standpoint because Pariah is more of an augmented alternate reality than a MMORPG. It was once described as a “Simulation with RPG elements, not the other way around”. However, I could see someone with certain talents in the “real world” finding excellent use of utilizing them within the game; especially if one person happens to be a surgeon or martial artist.

[quote=@shylarah]pool of experience"?  meaning...the same town?  The same playtime?  The same skill level?[/quote]
The same level of experiences and figurative level, yes. It is a safeguard to protect from having an inexperienced character with no renown and literally the top “player” of the simulation.

[quote=@shylarah]It sounds like the in-game history is the history of your avatar, and not intended to be done the way a fully-written character would be.  In other words, it's known they were never born (as such), merely created.  It's detailing how they fit into the virtual community, and not the fictional alternate world of Pariah itself.  Right?[/quote]
In many ways I look at this like [i][b]reputation[/b][/i] within the framework of the world so players can form character impressions based on notoriety (or lack thereof). As you can see in Hanako’s Character Sheet I’ve tried to describe how her personality, behavior, and profession have all resulted in a basic concept of who her avatar, Rael, is seen as. It is a utility for GM events and NPC interactions as well.

I’m not sure what you mean with the “virtual community over fictional world” speculation, however.