9 lines
1.6 KiB
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9 lines
1.6 KiB
Markdown
# Jargon File
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Jargon File (also Hacker's Dictionary) is a computer [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 greatly important part of hacker culture and has also partly inspired this very wiki.
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{ A similar but smaller encyclopedia is at https://www.erzo.org/shannon/writing/csua/encyclopedia.html (originally and encyclopedia at soda.csua.berkeley.edu). ~drummyfish }
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It informally states that it's in the [public domain](pd.md) and some people have successfully published it commercially, however 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.
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It is pretty nicely written with great amount of humor and good old political incorrectness, you can e.g. 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.). |