Nothing related to medical schools can be termed stupid. There are just so many technical terms that we as students have never heard of and have to learn during our interviewing experience. Trust me, I had several doubts during my interview phase, so please don't feel that way. To answer your question briefly, Alternate and Deferred are two totally different scenarios.
As with a Deferred decision, I had noticed that it was placed on several applicants' status during the cycle. Deferred decision basically means either there's something missing in your application that they are waiting on or they have marked your application as "to be viewed at a later date". In the early phase of the cycle, which would have been Oct-Dec, I'd tell you not to fret at all. But, it is quite late in the cycle now, so there's all the more reason for you to start believing that even if you were offered an interview now, you are basically going to be part of a pool of applicants who are competing for the Waitlisted/Alternate spots.
Although I used Waitlisted and Alternate synonymously, they are also very different terms. In a regular waitlist, the college admissions keeps you on file until the very end of the application cycle i.e. till the first day of school, and if students withdraw they give you their spots based on your rank on the waitlist. I believe and I have heard people being pulled off a waitlist and given a seat at the end of first week of school too (I maybe wrong with this bit of information though).
Alternate spot is if they feel you deserve to be in school and they have no way to incorporate you, they offer you admission for the next year's matriculating class. WVSOM believes in giving out a few Alternate spots to students so I feel it's a whole lot better than having a waitlist spot and not making it into school and having to reapply and go through the same process all over again. The only downside to it is you have to wait a whole another year. So, if you feel you would have had a whole lot of chances had you applied earlier in the cycle, you should secure this spot and give the applications process another go. And even if you don't, you have bagged one admission. If WVSOM or any other school for that matter which has offered you an Alternate spot is your top choice, then this scenario is ideal and a no brainer really.
Hope this helped. Anyone can feel free to PM me if you have any questions. I'd be more than happy to help anyone out with this challenging application and interviewing process.