JargonFile/entries/evil.txt
2014-04-26 16:54:15 +01:00

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evil
adj. As used by hackers, implies that some system, program, person, or
institution is sufficiently maldesigned as to be not worth the bother of
dealing with. Unlike the adjectives in the cretinous / losing /
brain-damaged series, evil does not imply incompetence or bad design, but
rather a set of goals or design criteria fatally incompatible with the
speaker's. This usage is more an esthetic and engineering judgment than a
moral one in the mainstream sense. We thought about adding a Blue Glue
interface but decided it was too evil to deal with. TECO is neat, but it can
be pretty evil if you're prone to typos. Often pronounced with the first
syllable lengthened, as /eeee'vil/. Compare evil and rude.