The Jargon File by Eric S. Raymond (sites to read books for free .TXT) 📖

>spelling flame n. //

[Usenet] A posting ostentatiously correcting a previous article's

spelling as a way of casting scorn on the point the article was trying

to make, instead of actually responding to that point (compare

[12573]dictionary flame). Of course, people who are more than usually

slovenly spellers are prone to think any correction is a spelling

flame. It's an amusing comment on human nature that spelling flames

themselves often contain spelling errors.

Node:spider, Next:[12574]spider food, Previous:[12575]spelling flame,

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spider

The Web-walking part of a search engine that collects pages for

indexing in the search engine's database. Also called a [12577]bot.

The best-known spider is Scooter, the web-walker for the Alta Vista

search engine.

Node:spider food, Next:[12578]spiffy, Previous:[12579]spider,

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spider food n.

Keywords embedded (usually invisibly) into a web page to attract

search engines (spiders). The intended result of including spider food

in one's web page is to insure that the page appears high on the list

of matching entries to a search engine query. There are right and

wrong ways to do this; the right way is a discreet `meta keywords'

tag, the wrong way is to embed many repeats of a keyword in comments

(and many search engines now detect and ignore the latter).

Node:spiffy, Next:[12581]spike, Previous:[12582]spider food,

Up:[12583]= S =

spiffy /spi'fee/ adj.

Said of programs having a pretty, clever, or exceptionally

well-designed interface. "Have you seen the spiffy [12584]X version of

[12585]empire yet?" 2. Said sarcastically of a program that is

perceived to have little more than a flashy interface going for it.

Which meaning should be drawn depends delicately on tone of voice and

context. This word was common mainstream slang during the 1940s, in a

sense close to 1.

Node:spike, Next:[12586]spin, Previous:[12587]spiffy, Up:[12588]= S =

spike v.

To defeat a selection mechanism by introducing a (sometimes temporary)

device that forces a specific result. The word is used in several

industries; telephone engineers refer to spiking a relay by inserting

a pin to hold the relay in either the closed or open state, and

railroaders refer to spiking a track switch so that it cannot be

moved. In programming environments it normally refers to a temporary

change, usually for testing purposes (as opposed to a permanent

change, which would be called [12589]hardwired).

Node:spin, Next:[12590]spl, Previous:[12591]spike, Up:[12592]= S =

spin vi.

Equivalent to [12593]buzz. More common among C and Unix programmers.

See the discussion of `spinlock' under [12594]busy-wait.

Node:spl, Next:[12595]splash screen, Previous:[12596]spin, Up:[12597]=

S =

spl /S-P-L/

[abbrev, from Set Priority Level] The way traditional Unix kernels

implement mutual exclusion by running code at high interrupt levels.

Used in jargon to describe the act of tuning in or tuning out ordinary

communication. Classically, spl levels run from 1 to 7; "Fred's at spl

6 today" would mean that he is very hard to interrupt. "Wait till I

finish this; I'll spl down then." See also [12598]interrupts locked

out.

Node:splash screen, Next:[12599]splat, Previous:[12600]spl,

Up:[12601]= S =

splash screen n.

[Mac users] Syn. [12602]banner, sense 3.

Node:splat, Next:[12603]splat out, Previous:[12604]splash screen,

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splat n.

Name used in many places (DEC, IBM, and others) for the asterisk

(*) character (ASCII 0101010). This may derive from the `squashed-bug'

appearance of the asterisk on many early line printers. 2. [MIT] Name

used by some people for the # character (ASCII 0100011). 3. The

[12606]feature key on a Mac (same as [12607]alt, sense 2). 4. obs.

Name used by some people for the Stanford/ITS extended ASCII circle-x

character. This character is also called blobby' andfrob', among

other names; it is sometimes used by mathematicians as a notation for

`tensor product'. 5. obs. Name for the semi-mythical Stanford extended

ASCII circle-plus character. See also [12608]ASCII.

Node:splat out, Next:[12609]spod, Previous:[12610]splat, Up:[12611]= S

=

splat out v.

[Usenet] To partially obscure a potentially provocative word by

substituting [12612]splat characters for some of its letters (usually,

but not always, the vowels). The purpose is not to make the word

unrecognizable but to make it a mention rather than a use, so that no

flamewar ensues. Words often splatted out include Nz (see

[12613]Godwin's Law), vlt*n (anywhere fundamentalists might be

lurking), brtn, and gn cntrl. Compare [12614]UNX.

Node:spod, Next:[12615]spoiler, Previous:[12616]splat out, Up:[12617]=

S =

spod n.

[UK] 1. A lower form of life found on [12618]talker systems and

[12619]MUDs. The spod has few friends in [12620]RL and uses talkers

instead, finding communication easier and preferable over the net. He

has all the negative traits of the [12621]computer geek without having

any interest in computers per se. Lacking any knowledge of or interest

in how networks work, and considering his access a God-given right, he

is a major irritant to sysadmins, clogging up lines in order to reach

new MUDs, following passed-on instructions on how to sneak his way

onto Internet ("Wow! It's in America!") and complaining when he is not

allowed to use busy routes. A true spod will start any conversation

with "Are you male or female?" (and follow it up with "Got any good

numbers/IDs/passwords?") and will not talk to someone physically

present in the same terminal room until they log onto the same machine

that he is using and enter talk mode. Compare [12622]newbie,

[12623]tourist, [12624]weenie, [12625]twink, [12626]terminal junkie,

[12627]warez d00dz. 2. A [12628]backronym for "Sole Purpose, Obtain a

Degree"; according to some self-described spods, this term is used by

indifferent students to condemn their harder-working fellows. Compare

the defiant adoption of the term `geek' in the mid-1990s by people who

would previously have been stigmatized by it (see [12629]computer

geek). 3. [obs.] An ordinary person; a [12630]random. This is the

meaning with which the term was coined, but the inventor informs us he

has himself accepted sense 1.

Node:spoiler, Next:[12631]spoiler space, Previous:[12632]spod,

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spoiler n.

[Usenet] 1. A remark which reveals important plot elements from books

or movies, thus denying the reader (of the article) the proper

suspense when reading the book or watching the movie. 2. Any remark

which telegraphs the solution of a problem or puzzle, thus denying the

reader the pleasure of working out the correct answer (see also

[12634]interesting). Either sense readily forms compounds like `total

spoiler', quasi-spoiler' and evenpseudo-spoiler'.

By convention, articles which are spoilers in either sense should

contain the word `spoiler' in the Subject: line, or guarantee via

various tricks that the answer appears only after several screens-full

of warning, or conceal the sensitive information via [12635]rot13,

[12636]spoiler space or some combination of these techniques.

Node:spoiler space, Next:[12637]sponge, Previous:[12638]spoiler,

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spoiler space

[also `spoiler spoo'] A screenful of blank lines (and, often,

form-feeds) deliberately inserted in a message following a

[12640]spoiler warning, so the actual spoiler can't be seen without

hitting a key.

Node:sponge, Next:[12641]spoof, Previous:[12642]spoiler space,

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sponge n.

[Unix] A special case of a [12644]filter that reads its entire input

before writing any output; the canonical example is a sort utility.

Unlike most filters, a sponge can conveniently overwrite the input

file with the output data stream. If a file system has versioning (as

ITS did and VMS does now) the sponge/filter distinction loses its

usefulness, because directing filter output would just write a new

version. See also [12645]slurp.

Node:spoof, Next:[12646]spool, Previous:[12647]sponge, Up:[12648]= S =

spoof vi.

To capture, alter, and retransmit a communication stream in a way that

misleads the recipient. As used by hackers, refers especially to

altering TCP/IP packet source addresses or other packet-header data in

order to masquerade as a trusted machine. This term has become very

widespread and is borderline techspeak.

Node:spool, Next:[12649]spool file, Previous:[12650]spoof, Up:[12651]=

S =

spool vi.

[from early IBM `Simultaneous Peripheral Operation On-Line', but is

widely thought to be a [12652]backronym] To send files to some device

or program (a `spooler') that queues them up and does something useful

with them later. Without qualification, the spooler is the `print

spooler' controlling output of jobs to a printer; but the term has

been used in connection with other peripherals (especially plotters

and graphics devices) and occasionally even for input devices. See

also [12653]demon.

Node:spool file, Next:[12654]spungle, Previous:[12655]spool,

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spool file n.

Any file to which data is [12657]spooled to await the next stage of

processing. Especially used in circumstances where spooling the data

copes with a mismatch between speeds in two devices or pieces of

software. For example, when you send mail under Unix, it's typically

copied to a spool file to await a transport [12658]demon's attentions.

This is borderline techspeak.

Node:spungle, Next:[12659]square tape, Previous:[12660]spool file,

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spungle n.

[Durham, UK; portmanteau, [12662]spangle + bungle] A [12663]spangle of

no actual usefulness. Example: Roger the Bent Paperclip in Microsoft

Word '98. A spungle's only virtue is that it looks pretty, unless you

find creeping featurism ugly.

Node:square tape, Next:[12664]squirrelcide, Previous:[12665]spungle,

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square tape n.

Mainframe magnetic tape cartridges for use with IBM 3480 or compatible

tape drives; or QIC tapes used on workstations and micros. The term

comes from the square (actually rectangular) shape of the cartridges;

contrast [12667]round tape.

Node:squirrelcide, Next:[12668]stack, Previous:[12669]square tape,

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squirrelcide n.

[common on Usenet's comp.risks newsgroup.] (alt. `squirrelicide') What

all too frequently happens when a squirrel decides to exercise its

species's unfortunate penchant for shorting out power lines with their

little furry bodies. Result: one dead squirrel, one down computer

installation. In this situation, the computer system is said to have

been squirrelcided.

Node:stack, Next:[12671]stack puke, Previous:[12672]squirrelcide,

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stack n.

The set of things a person has to do in the future. One speaks of the

next project to be attacked as having risen to the top of the stack.

"I'm afraid I've got real work to do, so this'll have to be pushed way

down on my stack." "I haven't done it yet because every time I pop my

stack something new gets pushed." If you are interrupted several times

in the middle of a conversation, "My stack overflowed" means "I forget

what we were talking about." The implication is that more items were

pushed onto the stack than could be remembered, so the least recent

items were lost. The usual physical example of a stack is to be found

in a cafeteria: a pile of plates or trays sitting on a spring in a

well, so that when you put one on the top they all sink down, and when

you take one off the top the rest spring up a bit. See also

[12674]push and [12675]pop.

At MIT, [12676]PDL used to be a more common synonym for [12677]stack

in all these contexts, and this may still be true. Everywhere else

[12678]stack seems to be the preferred term. [12679]Knuth ("The Art of

Computer Programming", second edition, vol. 1, p. 236) says:

Many people who realized the importance of stacks and queues

independently have given other names to these structures: stacks

have been called push-down lists, reversion storages, cellars,

nesting stores, piles, last-in-first-out ("LIFO") lists, and even

yo-yo lists!

Node:stack puke, Next:[12680]stale pointer bug, Previous:[12681]stack,

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stack puke n.

Some processor architectures are said to `puke their guts onto the

stack' to save their internal state during exception processing. The

Motorola 68020, for example, regurgitates up to 92 bytes on a bus

fault. On a pipelined machine, this can take a while.

Node:stale pointer bug, Next:[12683]star out, Previous:[12684]stack

puke, Up:[12685]= S =

stale pointer bug n.

Synonym for [12686]aliasing bug used esp. among microcomputer hackers.

Node:star out, Next:[12687]state, Previous:[12688]stale pointer bug,

Up:[12689]= S =

star out v.

[University of York, England] To replace a user's encrypted password

in /etc/passwd with a single asterisk. Under Unix this is not a legal

encryption of any password; hence the user is not permitted to log in.

In general, accounts like adm, news, and daemon are permanently

"starred out"; occasionally a real user might have the