# Jargon File

Jargon File (also Hacker's Dictionary) is a [computer](computer.md) [hacker](hacking.md) dictionary/compendium that's been written and updated by a number of prominent hackers, such as [Richard Stallman](rms.md) and [Erik S Raymond](esr.md), since 1970. It is a chiefly important part of hacker culture and has also partly inspired [this very wiki](lrs_wiki.md).

{ A similar but smaller encyclopedia is at https://www.erzo.org/shannon/writing/csua/encyclopedia.html (originally an encyclopedia at soda.csua.berkeley.edu). ~drummyfish }

The work informally states it's in the [public domain](pd.md) and some people have successfully published it commercially, although there is no standard [waiver](waiver.md) or [license](license.md) -- maybe because such waivers didn't really exist at the time it was started -- and so we have to suppose it is NOT formally [free as in freedom](free_culture.md). Nevertheless it is freely accessible e.g. at [Project Gutenberg](gutenberg.md) and no one will bother you if you share it around... we just wouldn't recommend treating it as true public domain.

It is fairly nicely written with high amount of [humor](jokes.md) and good old political incorrectness, you can for example successfully find the definition of terms such as *[rape](rape.md)* and *clit mouse*. Some other nice terms include *smoke emitting diode* (broken diode), *notwork* (non-functioning [network](network.md)), [Internet Exploiter](internet_explorer.md), *binary four* (giving a finger in binary), *Kamikaze packet* or *Maggotbox* ([Macintosh](mac.md)). At the beginning the book gives some theory about how the hacker terms are formed (overgeneralization, comparatives etc.).

## See Also

- [GNU Collaborative International Dictionary of English](gcide.md)
- [encyclopedia](encyclopedia.md)