ha ha only serious

A phrase (often seen abbreviated as HHOS) that aptly captures the flavor of
much hacker discourse. Applied especially to parodies, absurdities, and
ironic jokes that are both intended and perceived to contain a possibly
disquieting amount of truth, or truths that are constructed on in-joke and
self-parody. This lexicon contains many examples of ha-ha-only-serious in
both form and content. Indeed, the entirety of hacker culture is often
perceived as ha-ha-only-serious by hackers themselves; to take it either too
lightly or too seriously marks a person as an outsider, a wannabee, or in
larval stage. For further enlightenment on this subject, consult any Zen
master. See also hacker humor, and koan.
