19 lines
1.0 KiB
Plaintext
19 lines
1.0 KiB
Plaintext
@-party
|
|
|
|
/atpar`tee/ , n. [from the @-sign in an Internet address] (alt.: @-sign
|
|
party /atsi:n par`tee/ ) A semi-closed party thrown for hackers at a
|
|
science-fiction convention (esp. the annual World Science Fiction Convention
|
|
or Worldcon ); one must have a network address to get in, or at least be in
|
|
company with someone who does. One of the most reliable opportunities for
|
|
hackers to meet face to face with people who might otherwise be represented
|
|
by mere phosphor dots on their screens. Compare boink. The first recorded
|
|
@-party was held at the Westercon (a U.S. western regional SF convention)
|
|
over the July 4th weekend in 1980. It is not clear exactly when the
|
|
canonical @-party venue shifted to the Worldcon but it had certainly become
|
|
established by Constellation in 1983. Sadly, the @-party tradition has been
|
|
in decline since about 1996, mainly because having an @-address no longer
|
|
functions as an effective lodge pin. We are informed, however, that
|
|
rec.skydiving members have maintained a tradition of formation jumps in the
|
|
shape of an @.
|
|
|