Welcome to the Jargon File
PREFACE TO THIS FORK
This is just my personal fork of The Jargon File/AKA The Hacker's Dictionary, with a few additions, adjustments and other slight modifications I made for my own personal tastes, and for nostalgia's sake. I remember first reading the almost sacred Jargon File in 1992 or '93, I believe, but I was 12 years old at the time, so memories may have gotten some extra-syntaptic interference as a natural consequence of time, that wicked taskmaster who drives us all towards death and the unknown future, which at the moment seems somewhat bleak, and would seem bleaker, at least to me, were it not for my strong faith in the Creator. But I have digressed altogether too much, lost in a rambling mishmash of pretentious language. Forgive me. I've had no sleep since approximately 11:30 yesterday, and it is currently 23:18 the next day, so I'm approaching my 36th or 37th hour without sleep. (Note to self: Delete this paragraph before anyone reads it xP). Forgive me.
Anyhoo, among Hackers——and I obviously mean real Hackers, not the foolish wannabe cyber punks or ex-phreakers (when that "was a thing", to borrow a millennial's idiom) whose correct term is cracker——this dictionary and phrasebook package, as well as the other papers on catb.org, is indeed sacred. It is in a manner of speaking the Hacker's "manifesto", although that makes us sound like communist scum, in a way. For it outlines what our philosophy is and what Hackers truly are. Of course, most people who land here already know this.
The point is, this is just a fork I made since I was delighted to find the Jargon File being versioned on GitHub, as today is actually the first time I've seen it anywhere other than catb.org. But if anyone finds use in the alterations, however minor they may be (and will always be marked as such), I will take comfort in the fact that I helped. That is what Hackers are about, anyway: learning, making useful things, experimenting and above all, helping others do the same.
Well, this was supposed to be my "preface" to the fork I made, but I suppose as much as I love writing, I'm a better Hacker and computer scientist than writer. Happy Hacking and God bless (or whoever/whatever you believe bless xP).
The (Forked) Jargon File
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 4.4.7” or “The on-line hacker Jargon File, version 4.4.7, 29 Dec 2003”.)
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:
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 three ‘authorized’ editions so far are described in the Revision History section; there may be more in the future.
The Jargon File's online rendition uses an unusually large number of special characters. This test page lists them so you can check what your browser does with each one.