All specialized groups (knitters, lawyers, chemists) have their own vocabulary. The hacker community has its own lingo, which is called “hackish”. The words and definitions below were taken from a lengthy list of hacker terminology known as The Jargon File. The Jargon File has kept track of hacker slang since the 1970s and before. These 25 words offer an insightful and amusing glance into the world of hackers.
404 – A non-hacker, general computer user who has no clue what he/she is doing. This term comes from the web error “404 – File Not Found”.
Alpha geek – The most knowledgeable and proficient person in a work group.
Angry Fruit Salad – A computer program or website that uses an extremely bright color scheme that is uncomfortable to look at for any length of time.
Brown-paper-bag bug – This term is said to have originated with Linus Torvald, the creator of Linux, who used it in his online apology after Linux 2.2 was released with a major bug in it. The slang term is now used any time a computer program is released to the public with a bug in it that is so awful the programmer puts a brown-paper-bag over his head to avoid being recognized.
Camel Book – The slang term for the book “Programming Perl” written by Larry Wall and Randal L. Schwartz. The book (and its subsequent editions) has a picture of a camel on the cover.
Crapplet – Used to describe a Java applet that is considered worthless.
Dancing Frog – A computer problem that occurs only when no one else is watching. As soon as a person attempts to show the problem to someone else, the problem disappears. This slang term comes from an old Warner Bros. cartoon starring Michigan J. Frog. The frog would sing and dance with a top hat and cane only when no one was looking.
Egosurfing – Looking yourself up on Google or any search engine.
Guiltware – Shareware or freeware that has a message from the authors telling the user how long and hard the authors worked to create the program. This plea is to convince the user to send money to the program authors.
Hamster – A small piece of code that does one thing very well.
Larval Stage – A period of obsessive, single-minded focus on hacking that neophyte hackers go through. Symptoms are said to include 36-hour marathon computer sessions and constantly bleary eyes. The larval stage lasts anywhere from six months to two years.
PIBCAK or PICNIC – Problem In Between Chair and Keyboard or Problem In Chair Not In Computer. These acronyms make it clear a troubleshooter feels the user is to blame and not the program.
PLOKTA – Press Lots of Keys to Abort. This acronym refers to the mashing down of keyboard keys to try and get any response from a computer.
RTM/RTFM – An acronym meaning Read The Manual or Read the Flippin’ Manual, for those who are more irate. These acronyms are used, in online forums especially, when someone asks a question that could easily be answered by reading the instructions that came with the hardware or software.
Sandbox – The research and development area of a computer or software company.
Script kiddie – A young, inexperienced hacker who hacks using off-the-shelf programs. A script kiddie does not create any hacking programs of his or her own and they don’t really know what they’re doing. That doesn’t mean, however, that a script kidding can’t cause damage.
Sneaker – A person that is hired to hack the computer systems of a company or to physically break into the building of a company to test the company’s security systems.
Tenured graduate student – Any graduate student who has been in graduate school for longer than seven years. The joke is that the student is looking to gain tenure just as professors do. Tenure replaces contractual employment with a guaranteed position in the university; this is allegedly done to ensure academic freedom.
That’s not a bug, that’s a feature! – A quick retort to an alleged bug in a program.
Tree-killer – A printer. Any person that wastes paper or who creates documents that others consider a waste of paper.
Vulcan nerve pinch – The CTL + ALT + DEL command that will restart a PC.
Wintendo – A combination of the words “Windows” and “Nintendo”. A Wintendo is a Microsoft Windows using PC that is used by a hacker solely to play games and media files. The implication is that the hacker’s “real computer” has a much more elite operating system, such as Unix or Linux.
WOMBAT – Waste of Money, Brains, and Time.
WYSIWYG – An acronym meaning What You See Is What You Get. This is often pronounced “wizzy wig.”
Zipperhead – A person with a closed mind.
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