The Jargon File by Various authors. Maintained by Eric S. Raymond
The Jargon File is a long-running dictionary of hacker slang continuously contributed by hackers, which provides an insight into hacker and thus software culture. ("Hacker" in this context refers not to people who break into computers, but to devoted programming enthusiasts.) The Jargon File also includes chapters analyzing hacker Jargon construction by identifying characteristics such as [...]
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The Jargon File

Featured by Anne Laforet.

The Jargon File is a lexicon of hacker slang, created and maintained by hackers themselves since 1975. A compilation of terms used by the many hacker (sub)cultures, it also includes additional chapters to contextualize them, analyzing the way expressions are constructed, played with and subverted, through verb repetition, anthropomorphization, word puns, etc. Hacker folklore, myths and traits are also explored, especially with the "Portrait of J. Random Hacker", a well-known description of various aspects of hackers' lives.

The Jargon File is an intoxicating and well-referenced text which can easily lead to endless wandering and research. It both educates and entertains readers whatever knowledge and experience of computer and software cultures they have, from "losers" to "wannabees" to "wizards". Neither a set of instructions to become an hacker nor a technical dictionary, the Jargon File is a living archive of the inventivity, subtlety and humor of hackers' slang, of the visions(s) of the world they conveyed thru word plays of all kinds.

by , posted 14 Nov 2004


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