JargonFile/entries/bot.txt

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 nicks 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.