The gon File

#======= THIS IS THE JARGON FILE, VERSION 4.2.2, 20 AUG
2000 =======#
This is the Jargon File, a comprehensive compendium of hacker slang
illuminating many aspects of hackish tradition, folklore, and humor.
This document (the Jargon File) is in the public domain, to be freely
used, shared, and modified. There are (by intention) no legal restraints
on what you can do with it, but there are traditions about its proper use
to which many hackers are quite strongly attached. Please extend the
courtesy of proper citation when you quote the File, ideally with a
version number, as it will change and grow over time. (Examples of
appropriate citation form: "Jargon File 4.2.2" or "The on-line hacker
Jargon File, version 4.2.2, 20 AUG 2000".)
The Jargon File is a common heritage of the hacker culture. Over the
years a number of individuals have volunteered considerable time to
maintaining the File and been recognized by the net at large as editors
of it. Editorial responsibilities include: to collate contributions and
suggestions from others; to seek out corroborating information; to
cross-reference related entries; to keep the file in a consistent format;
and to announce and distribute updated versions periodically. Current
volunteer editors include:
Eric Raymond [5][email protected]
Although there is no requirement that you do so, it is considered good
form to check with an editor before quoting the File in a published
work or commercial product. We may have additional information that
would be helpful to you and can assist you in framing your quote to
reflect not only the letter of the File but its spirit as well.
All contributions and suggestions about this file sent to a volunteer
editor are gratefully received and will be regarded, unless otherwise
labelled, as freely given donations for possible use as part of this

public-domain file.
From time to time a snapshot of this file has been polished, edited, and
formatted for commercial publication with the cooperation of the
volunteer editors and the hacker community at large. If you wish to
have a bound paper copy of this file, you may find it convenient to
purchase one of these. They often contain additional material not found
in on-line versions. The two `authorized' editions so far are described in
the Revision History section; there may be more in the future. *
[6]Introduction: The purpose and scope of this File * [7]A Few Terms:
Of Slang, Jargon and Techspeak * [8]Revision History: How the File
came to be * [9]Jargon Construction: How hackers invent jargon *
[10]Hacker Writing Style: How they write * [11]Email Quotes: And
the Inclusion Problem * [12]Hacker Speech Style: How hackers talk *
[13]International Style: Some notes on usage outside the U.S. *
[14]Lamer-speak: Crackers, Phreaks, and Lamers * [15]Pronunciation
Guide: How to read the pronunciation keys * [16]Other Lexicon
Conventions: How to read lexicon entries * [17]Format for New
Entries: How to submit new entries for the File * [18]The Jargon
Lexicon: The lexicon itself * [19]Appendix A: Hacker Folklore *
[20]Appendix B: A Portrait of J. Random Hacker * [21]Appendix C:
Helping Hacker Culture Grow * [22]Bibliography: For your further
enjoyment
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Introduction This document is a collection of slang terms used by
various subcultures of computer hackers. Though some technical
material is included for background and flavor, it is not a technical
dictionary; what we describe here is the language hackers use among
themselves for fun, social communication, and technical debate.
The `hacker culture' is actually a loosely networked collection of
subcultures that is nevertheless conscious of some important shared
experiences, shared roots, and shared values. It has its own myths,

heroes, villains, folk epics, in-jokes, taboos, and dreams. Because
hackers as a group are particularly creative people who define
themselves partly by rejection of `normal' values and working habits, it
has unusually rich and conscious traditions for an intentional culture
less than 40 years old.
As usual with slang, the special vocabulary of hackers helps hold their
culture together -- it helps hackers recognize each other's places in the
community and expresses shared values and experiences. Also as usual,
not knowing the slang (or using it inappropriately) defines one as an
outsider, a mundane, or (worst of all in hackish vocabulary) possibly
even a [26]suit. All human cultures use slang in this threefold way -- as
a tool of communication, and of inclusion, and of exclusion.
Among hackers, though, slang has a subtler aspect, paralleled perhaps
in the slang of jazz musicians and some kinds of fine artists but hard to
detect in most technical or scientific cultures; parts of it are code for
shared states of consciousness. There is a whole range of altered states
and problem-solving mental stances basic to high-level hacking which
don't fit into conventional linguistic reality any better than a