18 lines
1019 B
Plaintext
18 lines
1019 B
Plaintext
sitename
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/si:tnaym/ , n. [Unix/Internet] The unique electronic name of a computer
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system, used to identify it in email, Usenet, or other forms of electronic
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information interchange. The folklore interest of sitenames stems from the
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creativity and humor they often display. Interpreting a sitename is not
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unlike interpreting a vanity license plate; one has to mentally unpack it,
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allowing for mono-case and length restrictions and the lack of whitespace.
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Hacker tradition deprecates dull, institutional-sounding names in favor of
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punchy, humorous, and clever coinages (except that it is considered
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appropriate for the official public gateway machine of an organization to
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bear the organization's name or acronym). Mythological references, cartoon
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characters, animal names, and allusions to SF or fantasy literature are
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probably the most popular sources for sitenames (in roughly descending
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order). The obligatory comment when discussing these is Harris's Lament: All
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the good ones are taken! See also network address.
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