bot

n [common on IRC, MUD and among gamers; from robot ] 1. An IRC or MUD user
who is actually a program. On IRC, typically the robot provides some useful
service. Examples are NickServ, which tries to prevent random users from
adopting nick s already claimed by others, and MsgServ, which allows one to
send asynchronous messages to be delivered when the recipient signs on. Also
common are annoybots , such as KissServ, which perform no useful function
except to send cute messages to other people. Service bots are less common
on MUDs; but some others, such as the Julia bot active in 1990--91, have
been remarkably impressive Turing-test experiments, able to pass as human
for as long as ten or fifteen minutes of conversation. 2. An AI-controlled
player in a computer game (especially a first-person shooter such as Quake)
which, unlike ordinary monsters, operates like a human-controlled player,
with access to a player's weapons and abilities. An example can be found at
http://www.telefragged.com/thefatal/. 3. Term used, though less commonly,
for a web spider. The file for controlling spider behavior on your site is
officially the Robots Exclusion File and its URL is http:// somehost
/robots.txt ) Note that bots in all senses were robots when the terms first
appeared in the early 1990s, but the shortened form is now habitual.

