= G =
=====

   :G: pref.,suff.  [SI] See {{quantifiers}}.

   :g-file: n.  [Commodore BBS culture] Any file that is written
with the intention of being read by a human rather than a machine,
such as the Jargon File, documentation, humor files, hacker lore,
and technical materials.

   This term survives from the nearly forgotten Commodore 64
underground and BBS community. In the early 80s, C-Net had emerged
as the most popular C64 BBS software for systems which encouraged
messaging (as opposed to file transfer).  There were three main
options for files: Program files (p-files), which served the same
function as `doors' in today's systems, UD files (the user
upload/download section), and g-files.  Anything that was meant to
be read was included in g-files.

   :gabriel: /gay'bree-*l/ n.  [for Dick Gabriel, SAIL LISP    hacker
and volleyball fanatic] An unnecessary (in the opinion of    the
opponent) stalling tactic, e.g., tying one's shoelaces or    combing
one's hair repeatedly, asking the time, etc.  Also used to    refer to
the perpetrator of such tactics.  Also, `pulling a    Gabriel',
`Gabriel mode'.

   :gag: vi.  Equivalent to {choke}, but connotes more    disgust.
"Hey, this is FORTRAN code.  No wonder the C compiler    gagged."  See
also {barf}.

   :gang bang: n.  The use of large numbers of loosely coupled
programmers in an attempt to wedge a great many features into a
product in a short time.  Though there have been memorable gang
bangs (e.g., that over-the-weekend assembler port mentioned in
Steven Levy's "Hackers"), most are perpetrated by large    companies
trying to meet deadlines; the inevitable result is    enormous buggy
masses of code entirely lacking in    {orthogonal}ity.  When
market-driven managers make a list of all    the features the
competition has and assign one programmer to    implement each, the
probability of maintaining a coherent (or even    functional) design
goes infinitesimal.  See also {firefighting},    {Mongolian Hordes
technique}, {Conway's Law}.

   :garbage collect: vi.  (also `garbage collection', n.) See    {GC}.

   :garply: /gar'plee/ n.  [Stanford] Another metasyntactic    variable
(see {foo}); once popular among SAIL hackers.

   :gas:  [as in `gas chamber'] 1. interj. A term of disgust    and
hatred, implying that gas should be dispensed in generous
quantities, thereby exterminating the source of irritation.  "Some
loser just reloaded the system for no reason!  Gas!"  2. interj. A
suggestion that someone or something ought to be flushed out of
mercy.  "The system's getting {wedged} every few minutes.     Gas!"  3.
vt.  To {flush} (sense 1).  "You should gas that old    crufty
software."  4. [IBM] n. Dead space in nonsequentially    organized
files that was occupied by data that has since been    deleted; the
compression operation that removes it is called    `degassing' (by
analogy, perhaps, with the use of the same term    in vacuum
technology).  5. [IBM] n. Empty space on a disk that has    been
clandestinely allocated against future need.

   :gaseous: adj.  Deserving of being {gas}sed.  Disseminated    by
Geoff Goodfellow while at SRI; became particularly popular after    the
Moscone-Milk killings in San Francisco, when it was learned    that the
defendant Dan White (a politician who had supported    Proposition 7)
would get the gas chamber under Proposition 7 if    convicted of
first-degree murder (he was eventually convicted of    manslaughter).

   :gawble: /gaw'bl/ n.  See {chawmp}.

   :GC: /G-C/  [from LISP terminology; `Garbage Collect']    1. vt. To
clean up and throw away useless things.  "I think I'll    GC the top of
my desk today."  When said of files, this is    equivalent to {GFR}.
2. vt. To recycle, reclaim, or put to    another use.  3. n. An
instantiation of the garbage collector    process.

   `Garbage collection' is computer-science techspeak for a
particular class of strategies for dynamically but transparently
reallocating computer memory (i.e., without requiring explicit
allocation and deallocation by higher-level software).  One such
strategy involves periodically scanning all the data in memory and
determining what is no longer accessible; useless data items are
then discarded so that the memory they occupy can be recycled and
used for another purpose.  Implementations of the LISP language
usually use garbage collection.

   In jargon, the full phrase is sometimes heard but the {abbrev}    GC
is more frequently used because it is shorter.  Note that there    is
an ambiguity in usage that has to be resolved by context: "I'm    going
to garbage-collect my desk" usually means to clean out the    drawers,
but it could also mean to throw away or recycle the desk    itself.

   :GCOS:: /jee'kohs/ n.  A {quick-and-dirty} {clone}    of System/360
DOS that emerged from GE around 1970; originally    called GECOS (the
General Electric Comprehensive Operating System).     Later kluged to
support primitive timesharing and transaction    processing.  After the
buyout of GE's computer division by    Honeywell, the name was changed
to General Comprehensive Operating    System (GCOS).  Other OS groups
at Honeywell began referring to it    as `God's Chosen Operating
System', allegedly in reaction to the    GCOS crowd's uninformed and
snotty attitude about the superiority    of their product.  All this
might be of zero interest, except for    two facts: (1) The GCOS people
won the political war, and this led    in the orphaning and eventual
death of Honeywell {{Multics}}, and    (2) GECOS/GCOS left one
permanent mark on Unix.  Some early Unix    systems at Bell Labs used
GCOS machines for print spooling and    various other services; the
field added to `/etc/passwd' to    carry GCOS ID information was called
the `GECOS field' and    survives today as the `pw_gecos' member used
for the user's    full name and other human-ID information.  GCOS later
played a    major role in keeping Honeywell a dismal also-ran in the
mainframe    market, and was itself mostly ditched for Unix in the late
1980s    when Honeywell began to retire its aging {big iron} designs.

   :GECOS:: /jee'kohs/ n.  See {{GCOS}}.

   :gedanken: /g*-dahn'kn/ adj.  Ungrounded; impractical; not
well-thought-out; untried; untested.

   `Gedanken' is a German word for `thought'.  A thought    experiment
is one you carry out in your head.  In physics, the term    `gedanken
experiment' is used to refer to an experiment that is    impractical to
carry out, but useful to consider because it can    be reasoned about
theoretically.  (A classic gedanken experiment of    relativity theory
involves thinking about a man in an elevator    accelerating through
space.)  Gedanken experiments are very useful    in physics, but must
be used with care.  It's too easy to idealize    away some important
aspect of the real world in constructing the    `apparatus'.

   Among hackers, accordingly, the word has a pejorative connotation.
 It is typically used of a project, especially one in artificial
intelligence research, that is written up in grand detail    (typically
as a Ph.D.  thesis) without ever being implemented to    any great
extent.  Such a project is usually perpetrated by people    who aren't
very good hackers or find programming distasteful or are    just in a
hurry.  A `gedanken thesis' is usually marked by an    obvious lack of
intuition about what is programmable and what is    not, and about what
does and does not constitute a clear    specification of an algorithm.
See also {AI-complete},    {DWIM}.

   :geef: v.  [ostensibly from `gefingerpoken']    vt. Syn. {mung}.
See also {blinkenlights}.

   :geek code: n.  (also "Code of the Geeks"). A set of    codes
commonly used in {sig block}s to broadcast the interests,    skills,
and aspirations of the poster.  Features a G at the left    margin
followed by numerous letter codes, often suffixed with    plusses or
minuses.  Because many net users are involved in    computer science,
the most common prefix is `GCS'.  To see a copy    of the current code,
browse `http://www.geekcode.com'.  Here    is a sample geek code (that
of Robert Hayden, the code's inventor)    from that page:

     -----BEGIN GEEK CODE BLOCK-----
     Version: 3.1
     GED/J d-- s:++>: a- C++(++++)$ ULUO++ P+>+++ L++ !E---- W+(---) N+++
     o+ K+++ w+(---) O- M+$>++ V-- PS++(+++)>$ PE++(+)>$ Y++ PGP++ t- 5+++
     X++ R+++>$ tv+ b+ DI+++ D+++ G+++++>$ e++$>++++ h r-- y+**
     ------END GEEK CODE BLOCK------

   The geek code originated in 1993; it was inspired (according to the
 inventor) by previous "bear", "smurf" and "twink"
style-and-sexual-preference codes from lesbian and gay    {newsgroup}s.
It has in turn spawned imitators; there is now    even a "Saturn geek
code" for owners of the Saturn car.  See also    {computer geek}.

   :geek out: vi.  To temporarily enter techno-nerd mode while in    a
non-hackish context, for example at parties held near computer
equipment.  Especially used when you need to do or say something
highly technical and don't have time to explain: "Pardon me while    I
geek out for a moment."  See {computer geek}; see also    {propeller
head}.

   :gen: /jen/ n.,v.  Short for {generate}, used frequently    in both
spoken and written contexts.

   :gender mender: n.  [common] A cable connector shell with    either
two male or two female connectors on it, used to correct the
mismatches that result when some {loser} didn't understand the
RS232C specification and the distinction between DTE and DCE.     Used
esp. for RS-232C parts in either the original D-25 or the    IBM PC's
bogus D-9 format.  Also called `gender bender',    `gender blender',
`sex changer', and even `homosexual    adapter;' however, there appears
to be some confusion as to whether    a `male homosexual adapter' has
pins on both sides (is doubly    male) or sockets on both sides
(connects two males).

   :General Public Virus: n.  Pejorative name for some    versions of
the {GNU} project {copyleft} or General Public    License (GPL), which
requires that any tools or {app}s    incorporating copylefted code must
be source-distributed on the    same counter-commercial terms as GNU
stuff.  Thus it is alleged    that the copyleft `infects' software
generated with GNU tools,    which may in turn infect other software
that reuses any of its    code.  The Free Software Foundation's
official position as of    January 1991 is that copyright law limits
the scope of the GPL to    "programs textually incorporating
significant amounts of GNU    code", and that the `infection' is not
passed on to third    parties unless actual GNU source is transmitted.
Nevertheless,    widespread suspicion that the {copyleft} language is
`boobytrapped' has caused many developers to avoid using GNU    tools
and the GPL.  Changes in the language of the version 2.0    GPL did not
eliminate this problem.

   :generate: vt.  To produce something according to an algorithm    or
program or set of rules, or as a (possibly unintended) side    effect
of the execution of an algorithm or program.  The opposite    of
{parse}.  This term retains its mechanistic connotations    (though
often humorously) when used of human behavior.  "The guy    is rational
most of the time, but mention nuclear energy around him    and he'll
generate {infinite} flamage."

   :Genius From Mars Technique: n.  [TMRC] A visionary quality    which
enables one to ignore the standard approach and come up with    a
totally unexpected new algorithm.  An attack on a problem from an
offbeat angle that no one has ever thought of before, but that in
retrospect makes total sense.  Compare {grok}, {zen}.

   :gensym: /jen'sim/  [from MacLISP for `generated symbol']    1. v.
To invent a new name for something temporary, in such a way    that the
name is almost certainly not in conflict with one already    in use.
2. n.  The resulting name.  The canonical form of a gensym    is
`Gnnnn' where nnnn represents a number; any LISP hacker would
recognize G0093 (for example) as a gensym.  3. A freshly generated
data structure with a gensymmed name.  Gensymmed names are useful
for storing or uniquely identifying crufties (see {cruft}).

   :Get a life!: imp.  Hacker-standard way of suggesting that the
person to whom it is directed has succumbed to terminal geekdom    (see
{computer geek}).  Often heard on {Usenet}, esp. as a    way of
suggesting that the target is taking some obscure issue of
{theology} too seriously.  This exhortation was popularized by
William Shatner on a "Saturday Night Live" episode in a    speech that
ended "Get a _life_!", but some respondents    believe it to have been
in use before then.  It was certainly in    wide use among hackers for
at least five years before achieving    mainstream currency in early
1992.

   :Get a real computer!: imp.  Typical hacker response to news    that
somebody is having trouble getting work done on a system that    (a) is
single-tasking, (b) has no hard disk, or (c) has an address    space
smaller than 16 megabytes.  This is as of early 1996; note    that the
threshold for `real computer' rises with time.  See    {bitty box} and
{toy}.

   :GFR: /G-F-R/ vt.  [ITS: from `Grim File Reaper', an ITS and    LISP
Machine utility] To remove a file or files according to some
program-automated or semi-automatic manual procedure, especially    one
designed to reclaim mass storage space or reduce name-space    clutter
(the original GFR actually moved files to tape).  Often    generalized
to pieces of data below file level.  "I used to have    his phone
number, but I guess I {GFR}ed it."  See also    {prowler}, {reaper}.
Compare {GC}, which discards only    provably worthless stuff.

   :GIFs at 11:  [Fidonet] Fidonet alternative to {film at    11},
especially in echoes (Fidonet topic areas) where uuencoded    GIFs are
permitted.  Other formats, especially JPEG and MPEG,    may be
referenced instead.

   :gig: /jig/ or /gig/ n.  [SI] See {{quantifiers}}.

   :giga-: /ji'ga/ or /gi'ga/ pref.  [SI] See    {{quantifiers}}.

   :GIGO: /gi:'goh/ [acronym]  1. `Garbage In, Garbage Out' --
usually said in response to {luser}s who complain that a program
didn't "do the right thing" when given imperfect input or    otherwise
mistreated in some way.  Also commonly used to describe    failures in
human decision making due to faulty, incomplete, or    imprecise data.
2. `Garbage In, Gospel Out': this more recent    expansion is a
sardonic comment on the tendency human beings have    to put excessive
trust in `computerized' data.

   :gilley: n.  [Usenet] The unit of analogical {bogosity}.
According to its originator, the standard for one gilley was "the
act of bogotoficiously comparing the shutting down of 1000 machines
for a day with the killing of one person".  The milligilley has    been
found to suffice for most normal conversational exchanges.

   :gillion: /gil'y*n/ or /jil'y*n/ n.  [formed from    {giga-} by
analogy with mega/million and tera/trillion]    10^9. Same as an
American billion or a British `milliard'.     How one pronounces this
depends on whether one speaks {giga-}    with a hard or soft `g'.

   :GIPS: /gips/ or /jips/ n.  [analogy with {MIPS}]
Giga-Instructions per Second (also possibly `Gillions of
Instructions per Second'; see {gillion}).  In 1991, this is used    of
only a handful of highly parallel machines, but this is expected    to
change.  Compare {KIPS}.

   :glark: /glark/ vt.  To figure something out from context.     "The
System III manuals are pretty poor, but you can generally    glark the
meaning from context."  Interestingly, the word was    originally
`glork'; the context was "This gubblick contains many    nonsklarkish
English flutzpahs, but the overall pluggandisp can be    glorked [sic]
from context" (David Moser, quoted by Douglas    Hofstadter in his
"Metamagical Themas" column in the January    1981 "Scientific
American").  It is conjectured that hacker    usage mutated the verb to
`glark' because {glork} was already    an established jargon term (some
hackers do report using the    original term).  Compare {grok}, {zen}.

   :glass: n.  [IBM] Synonym for {silicon}.

   :glass tty: /glas T-T-Y/ or /glas ti'tee/ n.  A terminal    that has
a display screen but which, because of hardware or    software
limitations, behaves like a teletype or some other    printing
terminal, thereby combining the disadvantages of both:    like a
printing terminal, it can't do fancy display hacks, and like    a
display terminal, it doesn't produce hard copy.  An example is    the
early `dumb' version of Lear-Siegler ADM 3 (without cursor    control).
See {tube}, {tty}; compare {dumb terminal},    {smart terminal}.  See
"{TV Typewriters}" (Appendix    A) for an interesting true story about
a glass tty.

   :glassfet: /glas'fet/ n.  [by analogy with MOSFET, the    acronym
for `Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Field-Effect Transistor']    Syn.
{firebottle}, a humorous way to refer to a vacuum tube.

   :glitch: /glich/  [very common; from German `glitschig' to    slip,
via Yiddish `glitshen', to slide or skid] 1. n. A    sudden
interruption in electric service, sanity, continuity, or    program
function.  Sometimes recoverable.  An interruption in    electric
service is specifically called a `power glitch' (also    {power hit}),
of grave concern because it usually crashes all    the computers.  In
jargon, though, a hacker who got to the middle    of a sentence and
then forgot how he or she intended to complete it    might say, "Sorry,
I just glitched".  2. vi. To commit a    glitch.  See {gritch}.  3. vt.
[Stanford] To scroll a    display screen, esp. several lines at a
time.  {{WAITS}}    terminals used to do this in order to avoid
continuous scrolling,    which is distracting to the eye.  4. obs.
Same as {magic    cookie}, sense 2.

   All these uses of `glitch' derive from the specific technical
meaning the term has in the electronic hardware world, where it is
now techspeak.  A glitch can occur when the inputs of a circuit
change, and the outputs change to some {random} value for some    very
brief time before they settle down to the correct value.  If    another
circuit inspects the output at just the wrong time, reading    the
random value, the results can be very wrong and very hard to    debug
(a glitch is one of many causes of electronic {heisenbug}s).

   :glob: /glob/, _not_ /glohb/ v.,n.  [Unix;    common] To expand
special characters in a wildcarded name, or the    act of so doing (the
action is also called `globbing').  The Unix    conventions for
filename wildcarding have become sufficiently    pervasive that many
hackers use some of them in written English,    especially in email or
news on technical topics.  Those commonly    encountered include the
following:

    *
          wildcard for any string (see also {UN*X})

    ?
          wildcard for any single character (generally read this way
          only at the beginning or in the middle of a word)

    []
          delimits a wildcard matching any of the enclosed characters

    {}
          alternation of comma-separated alternatives; thus,
          `foo{baz,qux}' would be read as `foobaz' or `fooqux'

Some examples: "He said his name was [KC]arl" (expresses    ambiguity).
"I don't read talk.politics.*" (any of the    talk.politics subgroups
on {Usenet}).  Other examples are given    under the entry for {X}.
Note that glob patterns are similar,    but not identical, to those
used in {regexp}s.

   Historical note: The jargon usage derives from `glob', the    name
of a subprogram that expanded wildcards in archaic pre-Bourne
versions of the Unix shell.

   :glork: /glork/  1. interj. Term of mild surprise, usually    tinged
with outrage, as when one attempts to save the results of    two hours
of editing and finds that the system has just crashed.     2. Used as a
name for just about anything.  See {foo}.     3. vt. Similar to
{glitch}, but usually used reflexively.  "My    program just glorked
itself." 4. Syn. for {glark}, which see.

   :glue: n.  Generic term for any interface logic or protocol    that
connects two component blocks.  For example, {Blue Glue} is    IBM's
SNA protocol, and hardware designers call anything used to    connect
large VLSI's or circuit blocks `glue logic'.

   :gnarly: /nar'lee/ adj.  Both {obscure} and {hairy}    (sense 1).
"{Yow!} -- the tuned assembler implementation of    BitBlt is really
gnarly!"  From a similar but less specific usage    in surfer slang.

   :GNU: /gnoo/, _not_ /noo/  1. [acronym: `GNU's Not    Unix!', see
{{recursive acronym}}] A Unix-workalike development    effort of the
Free Software Foundation headed by Richard Stallman
<<rms@gnu.ai.mit.edu>>.  GNU EMACS and the GNU C compiler, two    tools
designed for this project, have become very popular in    hackerdom and
elsewhere.  The GNU project was designed partly to    proselytize for
RMS's position that information is community    property and all
software source should be shared.  One of its    slogans is "Help stamp
out software hoarding!"  Though this    remains controversial (because
it implicitly denies any right of    designers to own, assign, and sell
the results of their labors),    many hackers who disagree with RMS
have nevertheless cooperated to    produce large amounts of
high-quality software for free    redistribution under the Free
Software Foundation's imprimatur.     See {EMACS}, {copyleft}, {General
Public Virus},    {Linux}.  2. Noted Unix hacker John Gilmore
<<gnu@toad.com>>,    founder of Usenet's anarchic alt.* hierarchy.

   :GNUMACS: /gnoo'maks/ n.  [contraction of `GNU EMACS']
Often-heard abbreviated name for the {GNU} project's flagship    tool,
{EMACS}.  Used esp. in contrast with {GOSMACS}.

   :go flatline: v.  [from cyberpunk SF, refers to flattening of    EEG
traces upon brain-death] (also adjectival `flatlined'). 1. To    {die},
terminate, or fail, esp. irreversibly.  In hacker    parlance, this is
used of machines only, human death being    considered somewhat too
serious a matter to employ jargon-jokes    about.  2. To go completely
quiescent; said of machines undergoing    controlled shutdown.  "You
can suffer file damage if you shut down    Unix but power off before
the system has gone flatline."  3. Of a    video tube, to fail by
losing vertical scan, so all one sees is a    bright horizontal line
bisecting the screen.

   :go root: vi.  [Unix; common] To temporarily enter    {root mode} in
order to perform a privileged operation.  This    use is deprecated in
Australia, where v. `root' is a synonym    for "fuck".

   :go-faster stripes: n.  [UK] Syn. {chrome}.  Mainstream in    some
parts of UK.

   :GoAT: //  [Usenet] Abbreviation: "Go Away, Troll".  See    {troll}.

   :gobble: vt.  1. To consume, usu. used with `up'.  "The    output
spy gobbles characters out of a {tty} output buffer."     2. To obtain,
usu. used with `down'.  "I guess I'll gobble down    a copy of the
documentation tomorrow."  See also {snarf}.

   :Godwin's Law: prov.  [Usenet] "As a Usenet discussion grows
longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler
approaches one."  There is a tradition in many groups that, once
this occurs, that thread is over, and whoever mentioned the Nazis
has automatically lost whatever argument was in progress.  Godwin's
Law thus practically guarantees the existence of an upper bound on
thread length in those groups.

   :Godzillagram: /god-zil'*-gram/ n.  [from Japan's    national hero]
1. A network packet that in theory is a broadcast to    every machine
in the universe.  The typical case is an IP datagram    whose
destination IP address is [255.255.255.255].  Fortunately,    few
gateways are foolish enough to attempt to implement this case!     2. A
network packet of maximum size.  An IP Godzillagram has 65,536
octets.  Compare {super source quench}, {Christmas tree    packet},
{martian}.

   :golden: adj.  [prob. from folklore's `golden egg'] When    used to
describe a magnetic medium (e.g., `golden disk',    `golden tape'),
describes one containing a tested, up-to-spec,    ready-to-ship
software version.  Compare {platinum-iridium}.

   :golf-ball printer: n. obs.  The IBM 2741, a slow but
letter-quality printing device and terminal based on the IBM
Selectric typewriter.  The `golf ball' was a little spherical    frob
bearing reversed embossed images of 88 different characters    arranged
on four parallels of latitude; one could change the font    by swapping
in a different golf ball.  The print element spun and    jerked
alarmingly in action and when in motion was sometimes    described as
an `infuriated golf ball'.  This was the technology    that enabled APL
to use a non-EBCDIC, non-ASCII, and in fact    completely non-standard
character set.  This put it 10 years ahead    of its time -- where it
stayed, firmly rooted, for the next 20,    until character displays
gave way to programmable bit-mapped    devices with the flexibility to
support other character sets.

   :gonk: /gonk/ vi.,n.  1. To prevaricate or to embellish the    truth
beyond any reasonable recognition.  In German the term is
(mythically) `gonken'; in Spanish the verb becomes `gonkar'.
"You're gonking me.  That story you just told me is a bunch of
gonk."  In German, for example, "Du gonkst mich" (You're pulling    my
leg).  See also {gonkulator}.  2. [British] To grab some    sleep at an
odd time; compare {gronk out}.

   :gonkulator: /gon'kyoo-lay-tr/ n.  [common; from the 1960s
"Hogan's Heroes" TV series] A pretentious piece of equipment    that
actually serves no useful purpose.  Usually used to describe    one's
least favorite piece of computer hardware.  See {gonk}.

   :gonzo: /gon'zoh/ adj.  [from Hunter S. Thompson]    1. With total
commitment, total concentration, and a mad sort of    panache.
(Thompson's original sense.)  2. More loosely:    Overwhelming;
outrageous; over the top; very large, esp. used of    collections of
source code, source files, or individual functions.     Has some of the
connotations of {moby} and {hairy}, but    without the implication of
obscurity or complexity.

   :Good Thing: n.,adj.  [very common; often capitalized;    always
pronounced as if capitalized.]  1. Self-evidently wonderful    to
anyone in a position to notice: "The Trailblazer's 19.2Kbaud    PEP
mode with on-the-fly Lempel-Ziv compression is a Good Thing for
sites relaying netnews."  2. Something that can't possibly have    any
ill side-effects and may save considerable grief later:    "Removing
the self-modifying code from that shared library would    be a Good
Thing."  3. When said of software tools or libraries, as    in "YACC is
a Good Thing", specifically connotes that the thing    has drastically
reduced a programmer's work load.  Oppose {Bad    Thing}.

   :gopher: n.  A type of Internet service first floated around    1991
and obsolesced around 1995 by the World Wide Web. Gopher    presents a
menuing interface to a tree or graph of links;    the links can be to
documents, runnable programs, or other gopher    menus arbitrarily far
across the net.

   Some claim that the gopher software, which was originally developed
 at the University of Minnesota, was named after the Minnesota
Gophers (a sports team).  Others claim the word derives from
American slang `gofer' (from "go for", dialectal "go fer"),    one
whose job is to run and fetch things.  Finally, observe that    gophers
dig long tunnels, and the idea of tunneling through the net    to find
information was a defining metaphor for the developers.     Probably
all three things were true, but with the first two coming    first and
the gopher-tunnel metaphor serendipitously adding flavor    and impetus
to the project as it developed out of its concept    stage.

   :gopher hole: n.  1. Any access to a {gopher}.  2. [Amateur
Packet Radio] The terrestrial analog of a {wormhole} (sense    2), from
which this term was coined.  A gopher hole links two    amateur packet
relays through some non-ham radio medium.

   :gorets: /gor'ets/ n.  The unknown ur-noun, fill in your own
meaning.  Found esp. on the Usenet newsgroup alt.gorets, which    seems
to be a running contest to redefine the word by implication    in the
funniest and most peculiar way, with the understanding that    no
definition is ever final.  [A correspondent from the Former    Soviet
Union informs me that `gorets' is Russian for `mountain    dweller'.
Another from France informs me that `goret' is archaic    French for a
young pig --ESR] Compare {frink}.

   :gorilla arm: n.  The side-effect that destroyed touch-screens    as
a mainstream input technology despite a promising start in the    early
1980s.  It seems the designers of all those {spiffy}    touch-menu
systems failed to notice that humans aren't designed to    hold their
arms in front of their faces making small motions.     After more than
a very few selections, the arm begins to feel sore,    cramped, and
oversized -- the operator looks like a gorilla while    using the touch
screen and feels like one afterwards.  This is now    considered a
classic cautionary tale to human-factors designers;    "Remember the
gorilla arm!" is shorthand for "How is this going    to fly in _real_
use?".

   :gorp: /gorp/ n.  [CMU: perhaps from the canonical hiker's    food,
Good Old Raisins and Peanuts] Another {metasyntactic    variable}, like
{foo} and {bar}.

   :GOSMACS: /goz'maks/ n.  [contraction of `Gosling EMACS']    The
first {EMACS}-in-C implementation, predating but now largely
eclipsed by {GNUMACS}.  Originally freeware; a commercial    version is
now modestly popular as `UniPress EMACS'.  The author,    James
Gosling, went on to invent {NeWS} and the programming    language Java;
the latter earned him {demigod} status.

   :Gosperism: /gos'p*r-izm/ n.  A hack, invention, or    saying due to
{elder days} arch-hacker R. William (Bill) Gosper.     This notion
merits its own term because there are so many of them.     Many of the
entries in {HAKMEM} are Gosperisms; see also    {life}.

   :gotcha: n.  A {misfeature} of a system, especially a    programming
language or environment, that tends to breed bugs or    mistakes
because it both enticingly easy to invoke and completely    unexpected
and/or unreasonable in its outcome.  For example, a    classic gotcha
in {C} is the fact that `if (a=b) {code;}'    is syntactically valid
and sometimes even correct.  It puts the    value of `b' into `a' and
then executes `code' if    `a' is non-zero.  What the programmer
probably meant was    `if (a==b) {code;}', which executes `code' if `a'
  and `b' are equal.

   :GPL: /G-P-L/ n.  Abbreviation for `General Public    License' in
widespread use; see {copyleft}, {General Public    Virus}.

   :GPV: /G-P-V/ n.  Abbrev. for {General Public Virus} in
widespread use.

   :grault: /grawlt/ n.  Yet another {metasyntactic    variable},
invented by Mike Gallaher and propagated by the    {GOSMACS}
documentation.  See {corge}.

   :gray goo: n.  A hypothetical substance composed of    {sagan}s of
sub-micron-sized self-replicating robots programmed    to make copies
of themselves out of whatever is available.  The    image that goes
with the term is one of the entire biosphere of    Earth being
eventually converted to robot goo.  This is the    simplest of the
{{nanotechnology}} disaster scenarios, easily    refuted by arguments
from energy requirements and elemental    abundances.  Compare {blue
goo}.

   :Great Renaming: n.  The {flag day} in 1987 on which all of    the
non-local groups on the {Usenet} had their names changed    from the
net.- format to the current multiple-hierarchies scheme.     Used esp.
in discussing the history of newsgroup names.  "The    oldest sources
group is comp.sources.misc; before the Great    Renaming, it was
net.sources." There is a    Great Renaming FAQ
(http://www.nottowayez.net/~leebum/netstuff.htm) on the Web.

   :Great Runes: n.  Uppercase-only text or display messages.     Some
archaic operating systems still emit these.  See also    {runes},
{smash case}, {fold case}.

   Decades ago, back in the days when it was the sole supplier of
long-distance hardcopy transmittal devices, the Teletype    Corporation
was faced with a major design choice.  To shorten code    lengths and
cut complexity in the printing mechanism, it had been    decided that
teletypes would use a monocase font, either ALL UPPER    or all lower.
The Question Of The Day was therefore, which one to    choose.  A study
was conducted on readability under various    conditions of bad ribbon,
worn print hammers, etc.  Lowercase won;    it is less dense and has
more distinctive letterforms, and is thus    much easier to read both
under ideal conditions and when the    letters are mangled or partly
obscured.  The results were filtered    up through {management}.  The
chairman of Teletype killed the    proposal because it failed one
incredibly important criterion:

        "It would be impossible to spell the name of the Deity
     correctly."

   In this way (or so, at least, hacker folklore has it) superstition
triumphed over utility.  Teletypes were the major input devices on
most early computers, and terminal manufacturers looking for    corners
to cut naturally followed suit until well into the 1970s.     Thus,
that one bad call stuck us with Great Runes for thirty years.

   :Great Worm: n.  The 1988 Internet {worm} perpetrated    by {RTM}.
This is a play on Tolkien (compare {elvish},    {elder days}).  In the
fantasy history of his Middle Earth    books, there were dragons
powerful enough to lay waste to entire    regions; two of these (Scatha
and Glaurung) were known as "the    Great Worms".  This usage expresses
the connotation that the RTM    crack was a sort of devastating
watershed event in hacker history;    certainly it did more to make
non-hackers nervous about the    Internet than anything before or
since.

   :great-wall: vi.,n.  [from SF fandom] A mass expedition to an
oriental restaurant, esp. one where food is served family-style    and
shared.  There is a common heuristic about the amount of food    to
order, expressed as "Get N - 1 entrees"; the value of    N, which is
the number of people in the group, can be    inferred from context (see
{N}).  See {{oriental food}},    {ravs}, {stir-fried random}.

   :Green Book: n.  1. One of the three standard {{PostScript}}
references: "PostScript Language Program Design", bylined    `Adobe
Systems' (Addison-Wesley, 1988; QA76.73.P67P66 ISBN    0-201-14396-8);
see also {Red Book}, {Blue Book}, and the    {White Book} (sense 2).
2. Informal name for one of the three    standard references on
SmallTalk: "Smalltalk-80: Bits of    History, Words of Advice", by
Glenn Krasner (Addison-Wesley, 1983;    QA76.8.S635S58; ISBN
0-201-11669-3) (this, too, is associated with    blue and red books).
3. The "X/Open Compatibility Guide",    which defines an international
standard {{Unix}} environment that    is a proper superset of
POSIX/SVID; also includes descriptions of a    standard utility
toolkit, systems administrations features, and the    like.  This
grimoire is taken with particular seriousness in    Europe.  See
{Purple Book}.  4. The IEEE 1003.1 POSIX Operating    Systems Interface
standard has been dubbed "The Ugly Green Book".     5. Any of the 1992
standards issued by the CCITT's tenth plenary    assembly.  These
include, among other things, the X.400 email    standard and the Group
1 through 4 fax standards.  See also    {{book titles}}.

   :green bytes: n.  (also `green words') 1. Meta-information
embedded in a file, such as the length of the file or its name; as
opposed to keeping such information in a separate description file
or record.  The term comes from an IBM user's group meeting    (ca.
1962) at which these two approaches were being debated and the
diagram of the file on the blackboard had the `green bytes' drawn    in
green.  2. By extension, the non-data bits in any    self-describing
format.  "A GIF file contains, among other things,    green bytes
describing the packing method for the image." Compare    {out-of-band},
{zigamorph}, {fence} (sense 1).

   :green card: n.  [after the "IBM System/360 Reference    Data" card]
A summary of an assembly language, even if the color is    not green
and not a card.  Less frequently used now because of the    decrease in
the use of assembly language.  "I'll go get my green    card so I can
check the addressing mode for that instruction."

   The original green card became a yellow card when the System/370
was introduced, and later a yellow booklet.  An anecdote from IBM
refers to a scene that took place in a programmers' terminal room    at
Yorktown in 1978.  A {luser} overheard one of the programmers    ask
another "Do you have a green card?"  The other grunted and    passed
the first a thick yellow booklet.  At this point the luser    turned a
delicate shade of olive and rapidly left the room, never    to return.

   :green lightning: n.  [IBM] 1. Apparently random flashing    streaks
on the face of 3278-9 terminals while a new symbol set is    being
downloaded.  This hardware bug was left deliberately unfixed,    as
some genius within IBM suggested it would let the user know that
`something is happening'.  That, it certainly does.  Later
microprocessor-driven IBM color graphics displays were actually
_programmed_ to produce green lightning!  2. [proposed] Any    bug
perverted into an alleged feature by adroit rationalization or
marketing.  "Motorola calls the CISC cruft in the 88000    architecture
`compatibility logic', but I call it green    lightning".  See also
{feature} (sense 6).

   :green machine: n.  A computer or peripheral device that has    been
designed and built to military specifications for field    equipment
(that is, to withstand mechanical shock, extremes of    temperature and
humidity, and so forth).  Comes from the olive-drab    `uniform' paint
used for military equipment.

   :Green's Theorem: prov.  [TMRC] For any story, in any group of
people there will be at least one person who has not heard the
story.  A refinement of the theorem states that there will be
_exactly_ one person (if there were more than one, it wouldn't    be as
bad to re-tell the story).  [The name of this theorem is a    play on a
fundamental theorem in calculus. --ESR]

   :greenbar: n.  A style of fanfolded continuous-feed paper    with
alternating green and white bars on it, especially used in    old-style
line printers.  This slang almost certainly dates way back    to
mainframe days.

   :grep: /grep/ vi.  [from the qed/ed editor idiom g/re/p,    where re
stands for a regular expression, to Globally search    for the Regular
Expression and Print the lines containing matches    to it, via
{{Unix}} `grep(1)'] To rapidly scan a file or set    of files looking
for a particular string or pattern (when browsing    through a large
set of files, one may speak of `grepping    around').  By extension, to
look for something by pattern.  "Grep    the bulletin board for the
system backup schedule, would you?"     See also {vgrep}.

   [It has also been alleged that the source is from the title of a
paper "A General Regular Expression Parser" -ESR]

   :gribble: n.  Random binary data rendered as unreadable    text.
Noise characters in a data stream are displayed as    gribble. Modems
with mismatched bitrates usually generate gribble    (more
specifically, {baud barf}). Dumping a binary file to the    screen is
an excellent source of gribble, and (if the bell/speaker    is active)
headaches.

   :grilf: // n.  Girlfriend.  Like {newsfroup} and    {filk}, a typo
reincarnated as a new word.  Seems to have    originated sometime in
1992 on {Usenet}.  [A friend tells me    there was a Lloyd Biggle SF
novel "Watchers Of The Dark", in    which alien species after species
goes insane and begins to chant    "Grilf!  Grilf!".  A human detective
eventually determines that    the word means "Liar!"  I hope this has
nothing to do with the    popularity of the Usenet term. --ESR]

   :grind: vt.  1. [MIT and Berkeley; now rare] To prettify    hardcopy
of code, especially LISP code, by reindenting lines,    printing
keywords and comments in distinct fonts (if available),    etc.  This
usage was associated with the MacLISP community and is    now rare;
{prettyprint} was and is the generic term for such    operations.  2.
[Unix] To generate the formatted version of a    document from the
{{nroff}}, {{troff}}, {{TeX}}, or Scribe    source.  3. [common] To run
seemingly interminably, esp. (but not    necessarily) if performing
some tedious and inherently useless    task.  Similar to {crunch} or
{grovel}.  Grinding has a    connotation of using a lot of CPU time,
but it is possible to grind    a disk, network, etc.  See also {hog}.
4. To make the whole    system slow.  "Troff really grinds a PDP-11."
5. `grind grind'    excl. Roughly, "Isn't the machine slow today!"

   :grind crank: n.   A mythical accessory to a terminal.  A    crank
on the side of a monitor, which when operated makes a zizzing    noise
and causes the computer to run faster.  Usually one does not    refer
to a grind crank out loud, but merely makes the appropriate    gesture
and noise.  See {grind}.

   Historical note: At least one real machine actually had a grind
crank -- the R1, a research machine built toward the end of the    days
of the great vacuum tube computers, in 1959.  R1 (also known    as `The
Rice Institute Computer' (TRIC) and later as `The Rice    University
Computer' (TRUC)) had a single-step/free-run switch for    use when
debugging programs.  Since single-stepping through a large    program
was rather tedious, there was also a crank with a cam and    gear
arrangement that repeatedly pushed the single-step button.     This
allowed one to `crank' through a lot of code, then slow    down to
single-step for a bit when you got near the code of    interest, poke
at some registers using the console typewriter, and    then keep on
cranking.

   :gripenet: n.  [IBM] A wry (and thoroughly unofficial) name    for
IBM's internal VNET system, deriving from its common use by    IBMers
to voice pointed criticism of IBM management that would be    taboo in
more formal channels.

   :gritch: /grich/  [MIT] 1. n. A complaint (often caused by a
{glitch}).  2. vi. To complain.  Often verb-doubled: "Gritch
gritch".  3. A synonym for {glitch} (as verb or noun).

   Interestingly, this word seems to have a separate history from
{glitch}, with which it is often confused.  Back in the early    1960s,
when `glitch' was strictly a hardware-tech's term of art,    the Burton
House dorm at M.I.T. maintained a "Gritch Book", a    blank volume,
into which the residents hand-wrote complaints,    suggestions, and
witticisms.  Previous years' volumes of this    tradition were
maintained, dating back to antiquity.  The word    "gritch" was
described as a portmanteau of "gripe" and    "bitch".  Thus, sense 3
above is at least historically incorrect.

   :grok: /grok/, var. /grohk/ vt.  [from the novel    "Stranger in a
Strange Land", by Robert A. Heinlein, where it    is a Martian word
meaning literally `to drink' and metaphorically    `to be one with']
The emphatic form is `grok in    fullness'. 1. To understand, usually
in a global sense.  Connotes    intimate and exhaustive knowledge.
Contrast {zen}, which is    similar supernal understanding experienced
as a single brief flash.     See also {glark}.  2. Used of programs,
may connote merely    sufficient understanding.  "Almost all C
compilers grok the    `void' type these days."

   :gronk: /gronk/ vt.  [popularized by Johnny Hart's comic    strip
"B.C." but the word apparently predates that] 1. To    clear the state
of a wedged device and restart it.  More severe    than `to {frob}'
(sense 2).  2. [TMRC] To cut, sever, smash,    or similarly disable.
3. The sound made by many 3.5-inch diskette    drives.  In particular,
the microfloppies on a Commodore Amiga go    "grink, gronk".

   :gronk out: vi.  To cease functioning.  Of people, to go home    and
go to sleep.  "I guess I'll gronk out now; see you all    tomorrow."

   :gronked: adj.  1. Broken.  "The teletype scanner was    gronked, so
we took the system down."  2. Of people, the condition    of feeling
very tired or (less commonly) sick.  "I've been chasing    that bug for
17 hours now and I am thoroughly gronked!"  Compare    {broken}, which
means about the same as {gronk} used of    hardware, but connotes
depression or mental/emotional problems in    people.

   :grovel: vi.  1. To work interminably and without apparent
progress.  Often used transitively with `over' or `through'.     "The
file scavenger has been groveling through the /usr    directories for
10 minutes now."  Compare {grind} and    {crunch}.  Emphatic form:
`grovel obscenely'.  2. To examine    minutely or in complete detail.
"The compiler grovels over the    entire source program before
beginning to translate it."  "I    grovelled through all the
documentation, but I still couldn't find    the command I wanted."

   :grue: n.  [from archaic English verb for `shudder', as    with
fear] The grue was originated in the game {Zork} (Dave    Lebling took
the name from Jack Vance's "Dying Earth"    fantasies) and used in
several other {Infocom} games as a hint    that you should perhaps look
for a lamp, torch or some type of    light source.  Wandering into a
dark area would cause the game to    prompt you, "It is very dark.  If
you continue you are likely to    be eaten by a grue."  If you failed
to locate a light source    within the next couple of moves this would
indeed be the    case.

   The grue, according to scholars of the Great Underground Empire, is
 a sinister, lurking presence in the dark places of the earth.  Its
favorite diet is either adventurers or enchanters, but its
insatiable appetite is tempered by its extreme fear of light. No
grues have ever been seen by the light of day, and only a few have
been observed in their underground lairs. Of those who have seen
grues, few have survived their fearsome jaws to tell the    tale. Grues
have sharp claws and fangs, and an uncontrollable    tendency to slaver
and gurgle. They are certainly the most    evil-tempered of all
creatures; to say they are touchy is a    dangerous understatement.
"Sour as a grue" is a common    expression, even among themselves.

   All this folklore is widely known among hackers.

   :grunge: /gruhnj/ n.  1. That which is grungy, or that which
makes it so.  2. [Cambridge] Code which is inaccessible due to
changes in other parts of the program.  The preferred term in North
America is {dead code}.

   :gubbish: /guhb'*sh/ n.  [a portmanteau of `garbage' and
`rubbish'; may have originated with SF author Philip K. Dick]
Garbage; crap; nonsense.  "What is all this gubbish?"  The    opposite
portmanteau `rubbage' is also reported; in fact, it was    British
slang during the 19th century and appears in Dickens.

   :guiltware: /gilt'weir/ n.  1. A piece of {freeware}    decorated
with a message telling one how long and hard the author    worked on it
and intimating that one is a no-good freeloader if one    does not
immediately send the poor suffering martyr gobs of money.     2. A
piece of {shareware} that works.

   :gumby: /guhm'bee/ n.  [from a class of Monty Python    characters,
poss. with some influence from the 1960s claymation    character] An
act of minor but conspicuous stupidity, often in    `gumby maneuver' or
`pull a gumby'.  2. [NRL] n. A bureaucrat,    or other technical
incompetent who impedes the progress of real    work.  3. adj. Relating
to things typically associated with people    in sense 2.  (e.g.  "Ran
would be writing code, but Richard gave    him gumby work that's due on
Friday", or, "Dammit!  Travel    screwed up my plane tickets.  I have
to go out on gumby patrol.")

   :gun: vt.  [ITS, now rare: from the `:GUN' command]    To forcibly
terminate a program or job (computer, not career).     "Some idiot left
a background process running soaking up half the    cycles, so I gunned
it."  Usage: now rare.  Compare {can},    {blammo}.

   :gunch: /guhnch/ vt.  [TMRC] To push, prod, or poke at a    device
that has almost (but not quite) produced the desired result.
Implies a threat to {mung}.

   :gunpowder chicken: n.  Same as {laser chicken}.

   :gurfle: /ger'fl/ interj.  An expression of shocked    disbelief.
"He said we have to recode this thing in FORTRAN by    next week.
Gurfle!"  Compare {weeble}.

   :guru: n.  [Unix] An expert.  Implies not only {wizard}    skill but
also a history of being a knowledge resource for others.     Less
often, used (with a qualifier) for other experts on other    systems,
as in `VMS guru'.  See {source of all good bits}.

   :guru meditation: n.  Amiga equivalent of `panic' in Unix
(sometimes just called a `guru' or `guru event').  When the    system
crashes, a cryptic message of the form "GURU MEDITATION
#XXXXXXXX.YYYYYYYY" may appear, indicating what the problem was.     An
Amiga guru can figure things out from the numbers.  Sometimes a
{guru} event must be followed by a {Vulcan nerve pinch}.

   This term is (no surprise) an in-joke from the earliest days of the
 Amiga.  There used to be a device called a `Joyboard' which was
basically a plastic board built onto a joystick-like device; it was
sold with a skiing game cartridge for the Atari game machine.  It    is
said that whenever the prototype OS crashed, the system    programmer
responsible would calm down by concentrating on a    solution while
sitting cross-legged on a Joyboard trying to keep    the board in
balance.  This position resembled that of a meditating    guru.  Sadly,
the joke was removed fairly early on (but there's    a well-known patch
to restore it in more recent versions).

   :gweep: /gweep/  [WPI] 1. v. To {hack}, usually at night.     At
WPI, from 1975 onwards, one who gweeped could often be found at    the
College Computing Center punching cards or crashing the    {PDP-10} or,
later, the DEC-20.  A correspondent who was there at    the time opines
that the term was originally onomatopoetic,    describing the keyclick
sound of the Datapoint terminals long    connected to the PDP-10.  The
term has survived the demise of those    technologies, however, and was
still alive in early 1999.  "I'm    going to go gweep for a while.  See
you in the morning." "I gweep    from 8 PM till 3 AM during the week."
2. n. One who habitually    gweeps in sense 1; a {hacker}.  "He's a
hard-core gweep,    mumbles code in his sleep."

