Source Code 1992 March/Source_Code_CD-ROM_Walnut_Creek_March_1992.iso/usenet/altsrcs/2/2934

Internet Message Format | 1991-03-03 | 49.9 KB

From: [e-mail] (Eric S. Raymond)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers,alt.sources,misc.misc
Subject: The Jargon File v, part 11 of 17
Message-ID: <1ZdV0C#3xKLjB0TCgJx9MTZ9x1Dtz7b=[e-mail]>
Date: 2 Mar 91 18:20:44 GMT

Submitted-by: [e-mail]
Archive-name: jargon/part11

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X   describe double ones is sarcastic).  Standard emphatic forms:
X   `Moby foo', `moby win', `moby loss'.  `Foby moo': a
X   spoonerism due to Greenblatt.
X
X   This term entered hackerdom with the Fabritek 256K memory of the
X   MIT-AI machine.  Thus, a moby is classically, 256K 36-bit words,
X   the size of a PDP-10 moby (it had two).  Back when address
X   registers were narrow, the term was more generally useful; because
X   when a computer had virtual memory mapping, it might actually have
X   more physical memory attached to it than any one program could
X   access directly.  One could then say "This computer has six
X   mobies" to mean that the ratio of physical memory to address space
X   is six, without having to say specifically how much memory there
X   actually is.  That in turn implied that the computer could
X   timeshare six `full-sized' programs without having to swap programs
X   between memory and disk.
X
X   Nowadays the low cost of processor logic means that address spaces
X   are usually larger than the most physical memory you can cram onto
X   a machine, so most systems have much *less* than 1 theoretical
X   `native' moby of core.  Also, more modern memory-management
X   techniques (esp. paging) make the `moby count' less significant.
X   However, there is one series of popular chips for which the term
X   could stand to be revived --- the Intel 8088 and 80286 with their
X   incredibly {brain-damaged} segmented-memory designs.  On these, a
X   `moby' would be the 1-megabyte address span of a
X   paragraph-plus-offset pair (by coincidence, a PDP-10 moby was
X   exactly 1 megabyte of 9-bit bytes).
X
Xmod: vt.,n. 1. Short for `modify' or `modification'.  Very
X   commonly used --- in fact these latter terms are considered markers
X   that one is being formal.  The plural `mods' is used esp. with
X   reference to bug fixes or minor design changes in hardware or
X   software, most esp. with respect to {patch} sets or a {diff}.
X   2. Short for {modulo} but *only* used for its techspeak sense.
X
Xmode: n. A general state, usually used with an adjective describing
X   the state.  Use of the word `mode' rather than `state' implies that
X   the state is extended over time, and probably also that some
X   activity characteristic of that state is being carried out. "No
X   time to hack; I'm in thesis mode."  Usage: in its jargon sense,
X   `mode' is most often said of people, though it is sometimes applied
X   to programs and inanimate objects.  "The E editor normally uses a
X   display terminal, but if you're on a TTY it will switch to
X   non-display mode."  This term is normally techspeak when used to
X   describe the state of a program, but the extended usage --- for
X   example, to describe people --- is definitely jargon.  In
X   particular, see {hack mode}, {day mode}, {night mode},
X   {demo mode}, {fireworks mode}, and {yoyo mode}; also {talk
X   mode}.
X
X   One also often hears the verbs `enable' and `disable' used in
X   connection with jargon modes.  Thus, for example, a sillier way of
X   saying "I'm going to crash." is "I'm going to enable crash mode
X   now."  One might also hear a request to "disable flame mode,
X   please".
X
Xmode bit: n. A {flag}, usually in hardware, that selects between
X   two (usually quite different) modes of operation.  The connotations
X   are different from {flag} bit in that mode bits are mainly
X   written during a boot or set-up phase, are seldom read, and seldom
X   change over the lifetime of an ordinary program.  The classic
X   example was the EBCDIC-vs.-ASCII bit (#12) of the Program Status
X   Word of the IBM 360.  Another was the bit on a PDP-12 that
X   controlled whether it ran the PDP-8 or LINC instruction set.
X
Xmodulo: /mod'y@-low/ prep. Except for.  From mathematical
X   terminology: one can consider saying that `4 = 22' except for
X   the 9s `(4 = 22 mod 9)'.  "Well, LISP seems to work okay now,
X   modulo that {GC} bug."  "I feel fine today modulo a slight
X   headache."
X
Xmolly-guard: [University of Illinois] n. A shield to prevent
X   tripping of some {Big Red Switch} by clumsy or ignorant hands.
X   Originally used of some plexiglass covers improvised for the BRS on
X   an IBM 4341 after a programmer's toddler daughter (named Molly)
X   frobbed it twice in one day.  Later generalized to covers over
X   stop/reset switches on disk drives and networking equipment.
X
XMongolian Hordes technique: n. Development by {gang bang}
X   (compare the Sixties counterculture expression `Mongolian
X   clusterfuck' for a public orgy).  Implies that large numbers of
X   inexperienced programmers are being put on a job better performed
X   by a few skilled ones.  Also called `Chinese Army technique';
X   see also {Brooks's Law}.
X
Xmonkey up: vt. To hack together hardware for a particular task,
X   especially a one-shot job.  Connotes an extremely {crufty} and
X   consciously temporary solution.  Compare {hack up}, {kluge up},
X   {cruft together}, {cruft together}.
X
Xmonstrosity: 1. n. A ridiculously {elephantine} program or system,
X   esp. one which is buggy or only marginally functional.  2. The
X   quality of being monstrous (see `Peculiar nouns' in the discussion
X   of jargonification).  See also {baroque}.
X
XMoof: /moof/ [MAC users] n. The Moof or `dogcow' is a
X   semi-legendary creature that lurks in the depths of the Macintosh
X   Technical Notes hypercard stack V3.1; specifically, the full story
X   of the dogcow is told in technical note #31 (the particular Moof
X   illustrated is properly named `Clarus').  Option-shift-click will
X   cause it to emit a characteristic `Moof!' or `!fooM' sound.
X   *Getting* to tech note #31 is the hard part; to discover how
X   to do that, one must needs examine the stack script with a hackerly
X   eye.  Clue: {rot13} is involved.  A dogcow also appears if you
X   choose `Page Setup...' with a LaserWriter selected and click on
X   the `Options' button.
X
XMoore's Law: /morz law/ prov. The observation that the logic
X   density of silicon integrated circuits has closely followed the
X   curve (bits per square inch) = 2 ^ (n - 1962); that is, the amount
X   of information storable in one square inch of silicon has roughly
X   doubled yearly every year since the technology was invented.  See
X   also {Parkinson's Law of Data}.
X
Xmoria: /mor'ee-@/ n. Like {nethack} and {rogue}, one of the
X   large PD Dungeons-and-Dragons-like simulation games, available for
X   a wide range of machines and operating systems.  Extremely
X   addictive and a major consumer of time better used for hacking.
X
XMOTAS: /moh-tahs/ [USENET, Member Of The Appropriate Sex] n. A
X   potential or (less often) actual sex partner.  See {MOTOS},
X   {MOTSS}, {SO}.
X
XMOTOS: /moh-tohs/ [from the 1970 U.S. census forms via USENET,
X   Member Of The Opposite Sex] n. A potential or (less often) actual
X   sex partner.  See {MOTAS}, {MOTSS}, {SO}.  Less common than
X   MOTSS or {MOTAS}, which has largely displaced it.
X
XMOTSS: /motss/ or /em-oh-tee-ess-ess/ [from the 1970 U.S. census
X   forms via USENET, Member Of The Same Sex] n. Esp. one considered as
X   a possible sexual partner, e.g. by a gay male or lesbian.  The
X   gay-issues newsgroup on USENET is called `soc.motss'.  See
X   {MOTOS} and {MOTAS}, which derive from it.  Also see {SO}.
X
Xmouse ahead: vi. Point-and-click analog of `type ahead'.  To
X   manipulate a computer's pointing device (almost always a mouse in
X   this usage, but not necessarily) and its selection or command
X   buttons before a computer program is ready to accept such input, in
X   anticipation of the program accepting the input.  Handling this
X   properly is rare, but it can help make a {WIMP environment} much
X   more usable, assuming they are familiar with the behavior of the
X   user interface.
X
Xmouse around: vi. To explore public portions of a large system, esp.
X   a network such as Internet via {FTP} or {TELNET}, looking for
X   interesting stuff to {snarf}.
X
Xmouse belt: n. See {rat belt}.
X
Xmouse droppings: [MSDOS] n. Pixels (usually single) which are not
X   properly restored when the mouse pointer moves away from a
X   particular location on the screen, producing the appearance that
X   the mouse pointer has left behind droppings.  The major causes for
X   this problem are programs which write to the screen memory
X   corresponding to the mouse pointer's current location without
X   hiding the mouse pointer first and mouse drivers which do not quite
X   support the graphics mode in use.
X
Xmouse elbow: n. A tennis-elbow-like fatigue syndrome resulting from
X   excessive use of a {WIMP environment}.  Similarly, `mouse
X   shoulder'; GLS reports that he used to get this a lot before he
X   taught himself to be ambimoustrous.
X
Xmouso: /mow'soh/ n. [by analogy with `typo'] An error in mouse usage
X   resulting in an inappropriate selection or graphic garbage on the
X   screen.  Compare {thinko}, {braino}.
X
XMS-DOS: /em-es-dos/ [MicroSoft Disk Operating System] n. A
X   {clone} of {CP/M} for the 8088 crufted together in six weeks by
X   hacker Tim Paterson, who is said to have regretted it ever since.
X   Numerous features including vaguely UNIX-like but rather broken
X   support for subdirectories, I/O redirection, and pipelines were
X   hacked into 2.0 and subsequent versions; as a result, there are two
X   incompatible versions of many system calls, and MS-DOS programmers
X   can never agree on basic things like what character to use as an
X   option switch or whether to be case-sensitive.  The resulting mess
X   is now the highest-unit-volume OS in history.  Often known simply
X   as DOS, which annoys people familiar with other similarly
X   abbreviated operating systems (the name goes back to the mid-1960s,
X   when it was attached to IBM's first disk operating system for the
X   360).  Some people like to pronounce DOS like "dose", as in "I
X   don't work on dose, man!", or to compare it with a dose of
X   brain-damaging drugs.  See {mess-dos}, {ill-behaved}.
X
XMUD: [abbr: Multi User Dungeon] 1. n. A class of {virtual reality}
X   experiments accessible via the Internet.  These are real-time chat
X   forums with structure; they have multiple `locations' like an
X   adventure game and may include combat, traps, puzzles, magic, a
X   simple economic system, and the capability for characters to build
X   more structure onto the database that represents the existing
X   world.  2. vi. To play a MUD (see {hack-and-slay}).  The acronym MUD
X   is often lower-cased and/or verbed; thus, one may speak of `going
X   mudding', etc.
X
X   Historically, MUDs (and their more recent progeny with names of MU-
X   form) derive from an AI experiment by Richard Bartle and Roy
X   Trubshaw on the University of Essex's DEC-10 in the early 1980s,
X   and descendants of that game still exist today (see {BartleMUD}).
X   The title `MUD' is still copyright to the commercial MUD run by
X   Bartle on British Telecom (their motto: "You haven't *lived*
X   'til you've *died* on MUD!"); however, this did not stop
X   students on the European academic networks from copying/improving
X   on the MUD concept, from which sprung several new MUDs (VAXMUD,
X   AberMUD, LPMUD).  Many of these had associated bulletin-board
X   systems for social interaction.  Because USENET feeds have been
X   spotty and difficult to get in Great Britain and the British JANET
X   network doesn't support {FTP} or remote login via telnet, the
X   MUDs became major foci of hackish social interaction there.
X
X   LPMUD and other variants crossed the Atlantic around 1988 and
X   quickly gained popularity in the US; they became nuclei for large
X   hacker communities with only loose ties to traditional hackerdom
X   (some observers see parallels with the growth of USENET in the
X   early 1980s).
X
X   More recent MUDs (such as TinyMud), esp. in the US, have tended to
X   emphasize social interaction, puzzles, and cooperative
X   world-building as opposed to combat and competition.  Whether this
X   represents a genuine long-term trend is hard to say; the state of
X   the art in MUD design is still moving very rapidly, with new
X   simulation designs appearing (seemingly) every month.  There is now
X   (early 1991) a move afoot to deprecate the term {MUD} itself, as
X   newer designs exhibit an exploding variety of names corresponding
X   to the different simulation styles being explored.  See also
X   {BartleMUD}, {berserking}, {bonk/oif}, {brand brand brand},
X   {FOD}, {hack-and-slay}, {mudhead}, {posing}, {talk mode},
X   {tinycrud}.
X
Xmudhead: n. Commonly used to refer to a {MUD} player who sleeps,
X   breathes, and eats MUD.  Mudheads have frequently been known to
X   fail their degrees, drop out, etc., with the consolation, however,
X   that they made wizard level.  When encountered in person, all a
X   mudhead will talk about is two topics: the tactic, character, or
X   wizard that in his/her view is always unfairly stopping him/her
X   from becoming a wizard or beating a favorite MUD, and the MUD he/she is
X   writing/going to write because all existing MUDs are so dreadful!
X   See also {wannabee}.
X
Xmultician: /muhl-ti'shn/ [coined at Honeywell, c.1970] n.
X   Competent user of {Multics}.  Perhaps oddly, no one has ever
X   promoted the analogous `Unician'.
X
XMultics: /muhl'tiks/ n. [from "MULTiplexed Information and
X   Computing Service"] An early (late 1960s) timesharing operating
X   system co-designed by a consortium including MIT, GE, and Bell
X   Laboratories.  Very innovative for its time --- among other things, it
X   introduced the idea of treating all devices uniformly as special
X   files.  All the members but GE eventually pulled out after
X   determining that {second-system effect} had bloated Multics to
X   the point of practical unusability (the `lean' predecessor in
X   question was {CTSS}).  Honeywell commercialized Multics after
X   buying out GE's computer group, but it was never very successful
X   (among other things, on some versions one was commonly required to
X   enter a password to log out).  One of the developers left in the
X   lurch by the project's breakup was Ken Thompson, a circumstance
X   which led directly to the birth of {UNIX}.  For this and other
X   reasons, aspects of the Multics design remain a topic of occasional
X   debate among hackers.  See also {brain-damaged}.
X
Xmultitask: n. Often used of humans in the same meaning it has for
X   computers, to describe a person doing several things at once (but
X   see {thrash}).  The term `multiplex' from communications
X   technology (meaning to handle more than one channel at the same
X   time) is used similarly.
X
Xmumblage: /muhm'bl@j/ n. The topic of one's mumbling (see {mumble}).
X   "All that mumblage" is used like "all that stuff" when it is
X   not quite clear what it is or how it works, or like "all that
X   crap" when "mumble" is being used as an implicit replacement for
X   obscenities.
X
Xmumble: interj. 1. Said when the correct response is either too
X   complicated to enunciate or the speaker has not thought it out.
X   Often prefaces a longer answer, or indicates a general reluctance
X   to get into a big long discussion.  "Don't you think that we could
X   improve LISP performance by using a hybrid reference-count
X   transaction garbage collector, if the cache is big enough and there
X   are some extra cache bits for the microcode to use?"  "Well,
X   mumble... I'll have to think about it."  2. Sometimes used
X   as an expression of disagreement.  "I think we should buy a
X   {VAX}."  "Mumble!"  Common variant: `mumble frotz' (see
X   {frotz}; interestingly, one does not say `mumble frobnitz' even
X   though `frotz' is short for `frobnitz').  3. Yet another
X   metasyntactic variable, like {foo}.
X
Xmunch: [often confused with `mung', q.v.] vt. To transform
X   information in a serial fashion, often requiring large amounts of
X   computation.  To trace down a data structure.  Related to {crunch}
X   and nearly synonymous with {grovel}, but connotes less pain.
X
Xmunching squares: n. A {display hack} dating back to the PDP-1
X   (c.1962, reportedly discovered by Jackson Wright), which employs a
X   trivial computation (repeatedly plotting the graph Y = X XOR T for
X   successive values of T --- see {HAKMEM} items 146-148) to produce
X   an impressive display of moving and growing squares that devour the
X   screen.  The initial value of T is treated as a parameter, which,
X   when well-chosen, can produce amazing effects.  Some of these,
X   later (re)discovered on the LISP machine, have been christened
X   `munching triangles' (try AND for XOR and toggling points
X   instead of plotting them), `munching w's', and `munching
X   mazes'.  More generally, suppose a graphics program produces an
X   impressive and ever-changing display of some basic form, foo, on a
X   display terminal, and does it using a relatively simple program;
X   then the program (or the resulting display) is likely to be
X   referred to as "munching foos" (This is a good example of the use
X   of the word {foo} as a metasyntactic variable.)
X
Xmunchkin: /muhnch'kin/ [from the squeaky-voiced little people in L.
X   Frank Baum's `The Wizard of Oz'] n. A teenage-or-younger micro
X   enthusiast bashing BASIC or something else equally constricted.  A
X   term of mild derision --- munchkins are annoying but some grow up
X   to be hackers after passing through a {larval stage}.  The term
X   {urchin} is also used.  See also {wannabee}, {bitty box}.
X
Xmundane: [from SF fandom] n. 1. A person who is not in science
X   fiction fandom.  2. A person who is not in the computer industry.
X   In this sense, most often an adjectival modifier as in "in my
X   mundane life...."
X
Xmung: /muhng/ alt. `munge' /muhnj/ [in 1960 at MIT, `Mash Until No
X   Good"; sometime after that the derivation from the {{recursive
X   acronyms}} `Mung Until No Good' became standard] vt. 1. To make
X   changes to a file, often large-scale, usually irrevocable.
X   Occasionally accidental.  See {BLT}.  2. To destroy, usually
X   accidentally, occasionally maliciously.  The system only mungs
X   things maliciously; this is a consequence of {Murphy's Law}.  See
X   {scribble}, {mangle}, {trash}, {nuke}.  Reports from
X   {USENET} suggest that the pronunciation /muhnj/ is now usual in
X   speech, but the spelling `mung' is still common in program comments
X   (compare the widespread confusion over the proper spelling of
X   {kluge}).  3. The kind of beans of which the sprouts are used
X   in Chinese food.  (That's their real name!  Mung beans!  Really!)
X
XMurphy's Law: prov. The correct, *original* Murphy's Law reads:
X   "If there are two or more ways to do something, and one of those
X   ways can result in a catastrophe, then someone will do it."  This
X   is a principle of defensive design, cited here because it's usually
X   given in mutant forms which are less descriptive of the challenges of
X   design for lusers.  For example, you don't make a two-pin plug
X   symmetrical and then label it `THIS WAY UP'; if it matters which way
X   it's plugged in, then you make the design asymmetrical.
X
X   Edward A. Murphy, Jr. was one of the engineers on the rocket-sled
X   experiments that were done by the U.S. Air Force in 1949 to test
X   human acceleration tolerances.  One experiment involved a set of 16
X   accelerometers mounted to different parts of the subject's body.
X   There were two ways each sensor could be glued to its mount, and
X   somebody methodically installed all 16 the wrong way around.
X   Murphy then made the original form of his pronouncement, which the
X   test subject (Major John Paul Stapp) quoted at a news conference a
X   few days later.
X
X   Within months `Murphy's Law' had spread to various technical
X   cultures connected to aerospace engineering.  Before too many years
X   had gone by variants had passed into the popular imagination,
X   mutating as they went.  Obviously, pop-culture versions in the vein
X   of "Anything that can go wrong, will." demonstrate Murphy's Law
X   acting on itself!
X
XMusic:: n. A common extracurricular interest of hackers (compare
X   {{Science-Fiction Fandom}}, {{Oriental Food}}; see also
X   {filk}).  It is widely believed among hackers that there is a
X   substantial correlation between whatever mysterious traits underlie
X   hacking ability (on the one hand) and musical talent and
X   sensitivity (on the other).  It is certainly the case that hackers,
X   as a rule, like music and often develop musical appreciation in
X   unusual and interesting directions.  Folk music is very big in
X   hacker circles; so is electronic music, and the sort of elaborate
X   instrumental jazz/rock that used to be called `progressive' and
X   isn't recorded much any more.  The hacker's musical range tends to
X   be wide; many can listen with equal appreciation to (say) Talking
X   Heads, Yes, Gentle Giant, Spirogyra, Scott Joplin, Tangerine Dream,
X   King Sunny Ade, The Pretenders, or Bach's Brandenburg Concerti.  It
X   is also apparently true that hackerdom includes a much higher
X   concentration of talented amateur musicians than one would expect
X   from a similar-sized control group of {mundane} types.
X
Xmutter: vt. To quietly enter a command not meant for the ears, eyes,
X   or fingers of ordinary mortals.  Frequently in `mutter an
X   {incantation}'.  See also {wizard}.
X
X= N =
X=====
X
XN: /en/ quant. 1. A large and indeterminate number of objects;
X   "There were N bugs in that crock!"; also used in its original
X   sense of a variable name.  "This crock has N bugs, as N goes to
X   infinity."  2. A variable whose value is inherited from the
X   current context.  For example, when ordering a meal at a
X   restaurant, N may be understood to mean however many people there
X   are at the table.  From the remark "We'd like to order N wonton
X   soups and a family dinner for N - 1.", you can deduce that
X   one person at the table wants to eat only soup, even though you
X   don't know how many people there are (see {great-wall}).  3.
X   `Nth': adj. The ordinal counterpart of N, senses #1 and #2.
X   "Now for the Nth and last time..." In the specific context
X   "Nth-year grad student", N is generally assumed to be at least 4,
X   and is usually 5 or more (see {tenured graduate student}).  See
X   also {{random numbers}}, {two-to-the-n}.
X
Xnailed to the wall: [like a trophy] adj. Said of a bug finally
X   eliminated after protracted, and even heroic, effort.
X
Xnailing jelly: vi. See {like nailing jelly to a tree}.
X
Xnaive: adj. Untutored in the perversities of some particular
X   program or system; one who still tries to do things in an intuitive
X   way, rather than the right way (in really good designs these
X   coincide, but most designs aren't `really good' in the appropriate
X   sense).  This is completely unrelated to general maturity or
X   competence or even competence at any other program.  It is a sad
X   commentary on the primitive state of computing that the natural
X   opposite of this term is often claimed to be `experienced user' but
X   is really more like `cynical user'.
X
Xnaive user: 1. n. A {luser}.  Tends to imply someone who is
X   ignorant mainly due to inexperience; when applied to someone who
X   *has* experience, there is a definite implication of stupidity.
X
XNAK: [from the ASCII mnemonic for #b0010101] interj. 1. On-line joke
X   answer to {ACK}? --- "I'm not here".  2. On-line answer to a
X   request for chat --- "I'm not available".  3. Used to politely
X   interrupt someone to tell them you don't understand their point or
X   that they have suddenly stopped making sense.  See {ACK}, sense
X   #3.  "And then, after we recode the project in COBOL...."
X   "Nak, Nak, Nak!  I thought I heard you say COBOL!"
X
Xnano-: [in measurement, the next quantifier below {micro-};
X   meaning * 10 ^ -9] pref. Smaller than {micro-}, and used in the
X   same rather loose and connotative way.  Thus, one has
X   {{nanotechnology}} (coined by hacker K. Eric Drexler) by analogy
X   with `microtechnology'; and a few machine architectures have a
X   `nanocode' level below `microcode'.  Tom Duff at Bell Labs
X   has also pointed out that "Pi seconds is a nanocentury".  See
X   also {pico-}, {nanoacre}, {nanobot}, {nanocomputer},
X   {nanofortnight}.
X
Xnanoacre: /nan'o-ay`kr/ n. An areal unit (about 2 mm square) of
X   real estate on a VLSI chip.  The term gets its giggle value from
X   the fact that VLSI nanoacres have costs in the same range as real
X   acres once one figures in design and fabrication-setup costs.
X
Xnanobot: /nan'oh-bot/ n. A robot of microscopic proportions,
X   presumably built by means of {{nanotechnology}}.  As yet, only used
X   informally (and speculatively!).  Also sometimes called a
X   `nanoagent'.
X
Xnanocomputer: /nan'oh-k@m-pyoo'tr/ n. A computer whose switching
X   elements are molecular in size.  Designs for mechanical
X   nanocomputers which use single-molecule sliding rods for their
X   logic have been proposed.  The controller for a {nanobot} would be
X   a nanocomputer.
X
Xnanofortnight: [Adelaide University] n. 1 fortnight times 10 ^ -9,
X   or about 1.2 ms.  This unit was used largely by students doing
X   undergraduate practicals.  See {microfortnight}, {attoparsec}
X   and {micro-}.
X
Xnanotechnology:: /nan'-oh-tek-no`l@-ji/ n. A hypothetical
X   fabrication technology in which objects are designed and built with
X   the individual specification and placement of each separate atom.
X   The first unequivocal nanofabrication experiments are taking place
X   now (1990), for example with the deposition of individual xenon
X   atoms on a nickel substrate to spell the logo of a certain very
X   large computer company by two of its physicists.  Nanotechnology
X   has been a hot topic in the hacker subculture ever since the term
X   was coined by K. Eric Drexler in his book `Engines of Creation',
X   where he predicted that nanotechnology could give rise to
X   replicating assemblers, permitting an exponential growth of
X   productivity and personal wealth.  See also {blue goo}, {gray goo},
X   {nanobot}.
X
Xnastygram: n. 1. A protocol packet or item of email (the latter is
X   also called a `letterbomb') that takes advantage of misfeatures
X   or security holes on the target system to do untoward things.  2.
X   Disapproving mail, esp. from a {net.god}, pursuant to a violation of
X   {netiquette}.  Compare {shitogram}.  3. A status report from an
X   unhappy, and probably picky, customer.  "What'd the Germans say in
X   today's nastygram?"  4. [deprecated] An error reply by mail from a
X   {daemon}; in particular, a {bounce message}.
X
XNathan Hale: n. An asterisk (See also {splat}, {{ASCII}}).  Oh,
X   you want an etymology?  Notionally, from "I regret that I have only
X   one asterisk for my country!", a misquote of the famous remark
X   uttered by Nathan Hale just before he was hanged.  Hale was a
X   (failed) spy for the rebels in the American War of Independence.
X
Xnature: n. See {has the X nature}.
X
Xneat hack: n. A clever technique.  Also, a brilliant practical
X   joke, where neatness is correlated with cleverness, harmlessness,
X   and surprise value.  Example: the Caltech Rose Bowl card display
X   switch (see Appendix A).  See {hack}.
X
Xneep-neep: /neep neep/ [onomatopoeic, from New York SF fandom] n.
X   One who is fascinated by computers.  More general than {hacker},
X   as it need not imply more skill than is required to boot games on a
X   PC.  The derived noun `neep-neeping' applies specifically to
X   the long conversations about computers that tend to develop in the
X   corners at most SF-convention parties.  Fandom has a related
X   proverb to the effect that "Hacking is a conversational black
X   hole!".
X
Xneophilia: /nee`oh-fil'-ee-uh/ n. The trait of being excited and
X   pleased by novelty.  Common trait of most hackers, SF fans, and
X   members of several other connected leading-edge subcultures,
X   including the pro-technology `Whole-Earth' wing of the ecology
X   movement, space activists, many members of MENSA, and the
X   Discordian/neo-pagan underground.  All these groups overlap heavily
X   and (where evidence is available) seem to share characteristic
X   hacker tropisms for science fiction, {{Music}}, and {{Oriental
X   Food}}.
X
Xnet.-: /net dot/ pref. [USENET] Prefix used to describe people and
X   events related to USENET.  From the time before the {Great
X   Renaming}, when all non-local newsgroups had names beginning
X   `net.'.  Includes {net.god}s, `net.goddesses' (various
X   charismatic net.women with circles of on-line admirers),
X   `net.lurkers', (see {lurker}), `net.person',
X   `net.parties' (a synonym for {boink} sense #2 (q.v.)) and
X   many similar constructs.  See also {net.police}.
X
Xnet.god: /net god/ n. Used to refer to anyone who satisfies some
X   combination of the following conditions: has been visible on USENET
X   for more than five years, ran one of the original backbone sites,
X   moderated an important newsgroup, wrote news software, or knows
X   Gene, Mark, Rick, Mel, Henry, Chuq, and Greg personally.  See
X   {demigod}.
X
Xnet.police: n. (var. `net.cops') Those USENET readers who feel it is
X   their responsibility to pounce on and {flame} any posting which
X   they regard as offensive, or in violation of their understanding of
X   {netiquette}.  Generally used sarcastically or pejoratively.
X   Also spelled `net police'.  See also {net.-}, {code police}.
X
Xnethack: /net'hak/ n. See {hack}, sense #8.
X
Xnetiquette: /net'ee-ket, net'i-ket/ [portmanteau from "network
X   etiquette"] n. Conventions of politeness recognized on {USENET},
X   such as: avoidance of cross-posting to inappropriate groups, or
X   refraining from commercial pluggery on the net.
X
Xnetnews: n. 1. The software that makes {USENET} run.  2. The
X   content of USENET.  "I read netnews right after my mail most
X   mornings".
X
Xnetrock: [IBM] n. A {flame}; used esp. on VNET, IBM's internal
X   corporate network.
X
Xnetwork address: n. (also `net address') As used by hackers,
X   means an address on `the' network (see {network, the}; this is
X   almost always a {bang path} or {{Internet address}}).  Such an
X   address is essential if one wants to be to be taken seriously by
X   hackers; in particular, persons or organizations that claim to
X   understand, work with, sell to, or recruit from among hackers but
X   *don't* display net addresses are quietly presumed to be
X   clueless poseurs and mentally flushed (see {flush}, sense #4).
X   Hackers often put their net addresses on their business cards and
X   wear them prominently in contexts where they expect to meet other
X   hackers face-to-face (see also {{Science-Fiction Fandom}}).  This
X   is mostly functional, but is also a connotative signal that one
X   identifies with hackerdom (like lodge pins among Masons or tie-dyed
X   T-shirts among Grateful Dead fans).  Net addresses are often used
X   in email text as a more concise substitute for personal names;
X   indeed, hackers may come to know each other quite well by network
X   names without ever learning each others' `legal' monikers.  See
X   also {sitename}, {domainist}.
X
Xnetwork meltdown: n. A state of complete network overload; the
X   network equivalent of {thrash}ing.  This may be induced by a
X   {Chernobyl packet}, See also {broadcast storm}, {kamikaze
X   packet}.
X
Xnetwork, the: n. 1. The union of all the major noncommercial,
X   academic, and hacker-oriented networks such as Internet, the old
X   ARPANET, NSFnet, BITNET, and the virtual UUCP and {USENET}
X   `networks', plus the corporate in-house networks and commercial
X   time-sharing services (such as CompuServe) that gateway to them.  A
X   site is generally considered `on the network' if it can be reached
X   through some combination of Internet-style (@-sign) and UUCP
X   (bang-path) addresses.  See {bang path}, {{Internet address}},
X   {network address}.  2. A fictional conspiracy of libertarian
X   hacker-subversives and anti-authoritarian monkeywrenchers described
X   in Robert Anton Wilson's novel `Schrodinger's Cat', to which
X   many hackers have subsequently decided they belong (this is an
X   example of {ha ha only serious}).
X
X   In sense #1, `network' is frequently abbreviated to `net'.  "Are
X   you on the net?" is a frequent question when hackers first meet
X   face to face, and "See you on the net!" is a frequent goodbye.
X
XNew Jersey: [primarily Stanford/Silicon Valley] adj. Generically,
X   brain-damaged or of poor design.  This refers to the allegedly
X   wretched quality of such software as C, C++, and UNIX (which
X   originated at Bell Labs in New Jersey).  "This compiler bites the
X   bag, but what can you expect from a compiler designed in New
X   Jersey?"  See also {UNIX conspiracy}.
X
XNew Testament: n. [C programmers] The second edition of K&R's `The C
X   Programming Language' (Prentice-Hall 1988, ISBN 0-13-110362-8),
X   describing ANSI Standard C.  See {K&R}.
X
Xnewbie: /n[y]oo'bee/ n. [orig. from British public-school &
X   military slang contraction of `new boy'] A USENET neophyte.
X   This term originated in the {newsgroup} `talk.bizarre' but is
X   now in wide use.  Criteria for being considered a newbie vary
X   wildly; a person can be called a newbie in one newsgroup while
X   remaining a respected regular in another.  The label `newbie'
X   is sometimes applied as a serious insult, to a person who has been
X   around USENET for a long time but who carefully hides all evidence
X   of having a clue.  See {BIFF}.
X
Xnewgrp wars: /n[y]oo'grp wohrz/ [USENET] n. Salvos of dueling
X   `newgrp' and `rmgroup' messages sometimes exchanged by persons on
X   opposite sides of a dispute over whether a {newsgroup} should be
X   created net-wide.  These usually settle out within a week or two as
X   it becomes clear whether the group has a natural constituency
X   (usually, it doesn't).  At times, especially in the completely
X   anarchic `alt' hierarchy, the names of newsgroups themselves become
X   a form of comment or humor; e.g. the spinoff of
X   `alt.swedish.chef.bork.bork.bork' from `alt.tv.muppets' in early 1990,
X   or any number of specialized abuse groups named after particularly
X   notorious {flamer}s, eg. `alt.weemba'.
X
Xnewline: /n[y]oo'lien/ n. 1. [techspeak, primarily UNIX] The
X   ASCII LF character (#b0001010), used under {UNIX} as a text line
X   terminator.  A Bell-Labs-ism rather than a Berkeleyism;
X   interestingly (and unusually for UNIX jargon) it is said originally
X   to have been an IBM usage (though the term `newline' appears in
X   ASCII standards, it never caught on in the general computing world
X   before UNIX).  2. More generally, any magic character, character
X   sequence, or operation (like Pascal's writeln procedure) required
X   to terminate a text record or separate lines.  See {crlf},
X   {terpri}.
X
XNeWS: /nee'wis/, /n[y]oo'is/ or /n[y]ooz/ [acronym; the Network
X   Window System] n. The road not taken in window systems, an elegant
X   Postscript-based environment that would almost certainly have won
X   the standards war with {X} if it hadn't been {proprietary} to
X   Sun Microsystems.  There is a lesson here that many software
X   vendors haven't yet heeded.  Many hackers insist on the
X   two-syllable pronunciations above as a way of distinguishing NeWS
X   from `news' (the {netnews} software).
X
Xnewsfroup: /n[y]oos'froop/ [USENET] n. Silly written-only synonym for
X   {newsgroup}, originated as a typo but now in regular use on
X   USENET's talk.bizarre and other lunatic-fringe groups.
X
Xnewsgroup: [USENET] n. One of {USENET}'s huge collection of topic
X   groups.  Among the best-known are `comp.lang.c' (the C-language
X   forum), `comp.unix.wizards', `rec.arts.sf-lovers' (for
X   science-fiction fans), and `talk.politics.misc' (miscellaneous
X   political discussions and {flamage}).
X
Xnickle: [From `nickel', common name for the US 5-cent coin] n. A
X   {nybble} + 1; 5 bits.  Reported among developers for Mattel's GI
X   1600 (the Intellivision games processor), a chip with 16-bit-wide
X   RAM but 10-bit-wide ROM.  See also {deckle}.
X
Xnight mode: n. See {phase} (of people).
X
XNightmare File System: n. Pejorative hackerism for Sun's Network
X   File System (NFS).  In any nontrivial network of Suns where there
X   is a lot of NFS cross-mounting, when one Sun goes down, the others
X   often freeze up.  Some machine tries to access the down one, and
X   (getting no response) repeats indefinitely.  This causes it to
X   appear dead to some messages.  Then another machine tries to reach
X   either the down machine or the pseudo-down machine, and itself
X   becomes pseudo-down.  The first machine to discover the down one is
X   now trying both to access the down one and respond to the
X   pseudo-down one, so it is even harder to reach.  This snowballs
X   very fast and soon the entire network of machines is frozen --- the
X   user can't even abort the file access that started the problem!
X   (ITS partisans are apt to cite this as proof of UNIX's alleged
X   bogosity; ITS had a working NFS-like shared file system with none
X   of these problems in the early 1970s.  Of course, ITS only had
X   6-character filenames and no subdirectories, so it was solving a
X   simpler problem.)  See also {broadcast storm}.
X
XNIL: [from LISP terminology for `false'] No.  Usage: used in reply
X   to a question, particularly one asked using the `-P' convention.
X   See {T}.
X
XNMI: n. Non-Maskable Interrupt.  See {priority interrupt}.
X
Xno-op: /noh-op/ alt. NOP (nop) [no operation] n. 1. (also v.) A
X   machine instruction that does nothing (sometimes used in
X   assembler-level programming as filler for data or patch areas, or
X   to overwrite code to be removed in binaries).  See also {JFCL}.
X   2. A person who contributes nothing to a project, or has nothing
X   going on upstairs, or both.  As in "He's a no-op." 3. Any
X   operation or sequence of operations with no effect, such as
X   circling the block without finding a parking space, or putting
X   money into a vending machine and having it fall immediately into
X   the coin-return box, or asking someone for help and being told to
X   go away.  "Oh well, that was a no-op."
X
Xnoddy: [Great Britain; from the children's books] adj. 1. Small
X   and unuseful, but demonstrating a point.  Noddy programs are often
X   written when learning a new language or system.  The archetypal
X   noddy program is {hello, world}.  Noddy code may be used to
X   demonstrate a feature or bug of a compiler.  May be used of real
X   hardware or software to imply that it isn't worth using.  "This
X   editor's a bit noddy."  2. A program that is more or less
X   instant to produce.  In this use, the term does not necessarily
X   connote uselessness, but describes a {hack} sufficiently trivial
X   that it can be written and debugged while carrying on (and during
X   the space of) a normal conversation.  "I'll just throw
X   together a noddy {awk} script to convert {crlf}s into
X   {newline}s."  See {toy program}.
X
XNOMEX underwear: [USENET] n. Syn. {asbestos longjohns}, used
X   mostly in auto-related mailing lists and newsgroups.  NOMEX
X   underwear is an actual product available on the racing equipment
X   market, used as a fire resistance measure and required in some
X   racing series.
X
Xnon-optimal solution: n. (also `sub-optimal solution') An
X   astoundingly stupid way to do something.  This term is generally
X   used in deadpan sarcasm, as its impact is greatest when the person
X   speaking looks completely serious.  Compare {stunning}.  See also
X   {Bad Thing}.
X
Xnonlinear: adj. [scientific computation] 1. Behaving in an erratic and
X   unpredictable fashion.  When used to describe the behavior of a
X   machine or program, it suggests that said machine or program is
X   being forced to run far outside of design specifications.  This
X   behavior may be induced by unreasonable inputs, or may be triggered
X   when a more mundane bug sends the computation far off from its
X   expected course.  2. When describing the behavior of a person,
X   suggests a tantrum or a {flame}.  "When you talk to Bob, don't
X   mention the drug problem or he'll go nonlinear for hours."  In
X   this context, `go nonlinear' connotes `blow up out of proportion'
X   (proportion connotes linearity).
X
Xnontrivial: adj. Requiring real thought or significant computing
X   power.  Often used as an understated way of saying that a problem
X   is quite difficult or impractical.  The preferred emphatic form is
X   `decidedly nontrivial'.  See {trivial}, {uninteresting},
X   {interesting}.
X
Xnotwork: n. A network, when it's acting {flaky} or is {down}.
X   Compare {nyetwork}.  Orig. referred to a particular period of
X   flakiness on IBM's VNET corporate network, c.1988.
X
XNP-: /en pee/ pref. Extremely.  Used to modify adjectives
X   describing a level or quality of difficulty; the connotation is
X   often `more so than it should be' (NP-complete problems all seem to
X   be very hard, but so far no one has found a good a-priori reason
X   that they should be.)  "Getting this algorithm to perform
X   correctly in every case is NP-annoying."  This is generalized from
X   the computer science terms `NP-hard' and `NP-complete'.  NP
X   is the set of Nondeterministic-Polynomial algorithms, those that
X   can be completed by a nondeterministic finite state machine in an
X   amount of time that is a polynomial function of the size of the
X   input.
X
XNSA line eater: n. The NSA (National Security Agency) trawling
X   program sometimes assumed to be reading {USENET} for the U.S.
X   Government's spooks.  Most hackers describe it as a mythical beast,
X   but some believe it actually exists, more aren't sure, and many
X   believe in acting as though it exists just in case.  Some netters
X   put loaded phrases like `Uzi', `nuclear materials', `Palestine',
X   `cocaine', and `assassination' in their {sig block}s in an
X   attempt to confuse and overload the creature.  The {GNU} version
X   of {EMACS} actually has a command that randomly inserts a bunch
X   of insidious anarcho-verbiage into your edited text.
X
X   There's a mainstream variant of this myth involving a `Trunk Line
X   Monitor', which supposedly used speech recognition to extract words
X   from telephone trunks.  This one was making the rounds in the late
X   1970s, spread by people who had no idea of then-current technology
X   or the storage, signal-processing or speech recognition needs of
X   such a project.  On the basis of mass-storage costs alone it would
X   have been cheaper to hire 50 high-school students and just let them
X   listen in.  Speech recognition technology can't do this job even
X   now (1991), and amomost certainly won't in this millenium, either.
X   The peak of silliness came with a letter to an alternative paper in
X   New Haven, laying out the factoids of this Big Brotherly affair.
X   The letter writer then revealed his actual agenda by offering ---
X   at an amazing low price, just this once, we take VISA and
X   MasterCard --- a scrambler, guaranteed to daunt the Trunk Trawler,
X   and presumably allowing the would-be Baader-Meinhof gangs of the
X   world to get on with their business.
X
Xnuke: vt. 1. To intentionally delete the entire contents of a
X   given directory or storage volume.  "On UNIX, `rm -r /usr'
X   will nuke everything in the usr filesystem."  Never used for
X   accidental deletion.  Oppose {blow away}.  2. Syn. for
X   {dike}, applied to smaller things such as files, features, or
X   code sections.  Often used to express a final verdict.  "What do
X   you want me to do with that 80-meg {wallpaper} file?"  "Nuke
X   it."  3. Used of processes as well as files; nuke is a frequent
X   verbal alias for `kill -9' on UNIX.  4. On IBM PCs, a bug
X   that results in {fandango on core} can trash the operating
X   system, including the FAT (the in-core copy of the disk block
X   chaining information).  This can utterly scramble attached disks,
X   which are then said to have been `nuked'.  This term is also
X   used of analogous lossages on Macintoshes and other micros without
X   memory protection.
X
Xnull device: n. A {logical} input/output device connected to the
X   {bit bucket}; when you write to it nothing happens, when you read
X   from it you see an end-of-file condition.  Useful for discarding
X   unwanted output or using interactive programs in a {batch mode}.
X   See {/dev/null}.
X
Xnumber-crunching: n. Computations of a numerical nature, esp.
X   those that make extensive use of floating-point numbers.  The only
X   thing {Fortrash} is good for.  This term is in widespread
X   informal use outside hackerom and even in mainstream slang, but is
X   cited here to record some additional hackish connotations: namely,
X   that the computations are mindless and involve massive use of
X   {brute force}.  See also {crunch}.
X
Xnumbers: [scientific computation] n. Output of a computation that
X   may not be significant results, but at least indicate that the
X   program is running.  May be used to placate management, grant
X   sponsors, etc.  `Making numbers' means running a program
X   because output --- any output, not necessarily meaningful output
X   --- is needed as a demonstration of progress.  See {pretty
X   pictures}, {math-out}, {social science number}.
X
XNUXI problem: /nuk'see pro'blm/ n. This refers to the problem of
X   transferring data between machines with differing byte-order.  The
X   string `UNIX' might look like `NUXI' on a machine with a
X   different `byte sex' (e.g. when transferring data from a
X   {little-endian} to a {big-endian}, or vice-versa).  See also
X   {middle-endian}, {swab}, and {bytesexual}.
X
Xnybble: /nib'l/ (alt. `nibble') [from v. `nibble' by
X   analogy with `bite' => `byte'] n. Four bits; one
X   hexadecimal digit; a half-byte.  Though `byte' is now accepted
X   technical jargon found in dictionaries, this useful relative is
X   still jargon.  Compare {{byte}}, {crumb}, {tayste},
X   {dynner}, see also {bit}, {nickle}, {deckle}.  Apparently
X   this spelling is uncommon in Commonwealth Hackish, as British
X   orthography suggests the pronunciation /nie'bl/.
X
Xnyetwork: [from Russian `nyet' = no] n. A network, when it's
X   acting {flaky} or is {down}.  Compare {notwork}.
X
X= O =
X=====
X
XOb-: /ob/ pref. Obligatory.  A piece of {netiquette} that
X   acknowledges the author has been straying from the newsgroup's
X   charter topic.  For example, if a posting in alt.sex has nothing
X   particularly to do with sex, the author may append `ObSex' (or
X   `Obsex') and toss off a question or vignette about some unusual
X   erotic act.  It is a sign of great winnitude when your Obs are more
X   interesting than most other peoples' whole postings.
X
XObfuscated C Contest: n. Annual contest run since 1984 over USENET
X   by Landon Curt Noll and friends.  The overall winner is whoever
X   produces the most unreadable, creative, and bizarre (but working) C
X   program; various other prizes are awarded at the judges' whim.
X   Given C's terse syntax and macro-preprocessor facilities, this
X   gives contestants a lot of maneuvering room.  The winning programs
X   often manage to be simultaneously (a) funny, (b) breathtaking works
X   of art, and (c) horrible examples of how *not* to code in C.
X
X   This relatively short and sweet entry might help convey the flavor
X   of obfuscated C:
X
X     /*
X      * HELLO WORLD program
X      * by Jack Applin and Robert Heckendorn, 1985
X      */
X     main(v,c)char**c;{for(v[c++]="Hello, world!\n)";
X     (!!c)[*c]&&(v--||--c&&execlp(*c,*c,c[!!c]+!!c,!c));
X     **c=!c)write(!!*c,*c,!!**c);}
X
X   Here's another good one:
X
X     /*
X      * Program to compute an approximation of pi
X      *  by Brian Westley, 1988
X      */
X
X     #define _ -F<00||--F-OO--;
X     int F=00,OO=00;
X     main(){F_OO();printf("%1.3f\n",4.*-F/OO/OO);}F_OO()
X     {
X                 _-_-_-_
X            _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
X         _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
X       _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
X      _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
X      _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
X     _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
X     _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
X     _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
X     _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
X      _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
X      _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
X       _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
X         _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
X             _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
X                 _-_-_-_
X     }
X
X   See also {hello, world}.
X
Xobscure: adj. Used in an exaggeration of its normal meaning, to
X   imply total incomprehensibility.  "The reason for that last crash
X   is obscure."  "The `find(1)' command's syntax is obscure!"
X   The phrase `moderately obscure' implies that it could be
X   figured out but probably isn't worth the trouble.  The construction
X   `obscure in the extreme' is the preferred emphatic form.
X
Xoctal forty: /ok'tl for'tee/ n. Hackish way of saying "I'm drawing
X   a blank."  Octal 40 is the {{ASCII}} space character, #b0100000; by
X   an odd coincidence, {hex} 40 (#b01000000) is the {{EBCDIC}} space
X   character.  See {wall}.
X
Xoff the trolley: adj. Describes the behavior of a program that
X   malfunctions and goes catatonic, but doesn't actually {crash} or
X   abort.  See {glitch}, {bug}, {deep space}.
X
Xoff-by-one error: n. Exceedingly common error induced in many ways,
X   such as by starting at 0 when you should have started at 1 or vice
X   versa, or by writing < N instead of <= N or vice-versa.  Also
X   applied to giving something to the person next to the one who
X   should have gotten it.  Often confounded with {fencepost error},
X   which is properly a particular subtype of it.
X
Xoffline: adv. Not now or not here.  Example: "Let's take this
SHAR_EOF
true || echo 'restore of jargon.ascii failed'
fi
echo 'End of part 11, continue with part 12'
echo 12 > _shar_seq_.tmp
exit 0