If it weren't so entertaining, I wouldn't. It entertains (at least it entertains me) on several levels. It borrows from culturally funny sources: Dilbert, Monty Python, Douglas Adams, the Firesign Theater and others. It also offers a peculiar slant on the evolution of computing, which is entertaining in a way. In addition, some of this jargon is beginning to blend into the mainstream culture. I'll be exploring the Jargon File Resources page at www.tuxedo.org/~esr/jargon/index.html . The version of this site I am discussing is 4.2.3, dated 23 Nov 2000. Things appear and disappear regularly, so in a few months, some of the things I talk about may not be around anymore.
Once you have reached the home page, click on the link "Browse the Jargon File entry by entry" to enter the site. You don't actually jump into the file directly, but to a page that offers supplementary material, which may be of more interest to some than the actual definitions. Sections like "Jargon Construction", "Hacker Writing Style", "Hacker Speech Style", "Lamer-speak", "Hacker Folklore" and an interesting bibliography greatly add to the experience. I strongly recommend that you read the Introduction and the section titled "A Few Terms". As a teaser, note that the introduction states "Hackers, as a rule, love wordplay and are very conscious and inventive in their use of language.", and later states "Hackers, by contrast, regard slang formation and use as a game to be played for conscious pleasure. Their inventions thus display an almost unique combination of the neotenous enjoyment of language-play with the discrimination of educated and powerful intelligence." Does this sound similar to any other social group you know?
Some of the references are very technical - unless you're a hacker yourself, you might not get everything. To get you started, I'll make a few suggestions that I found interesting that don't seem incomprehensible to non-hackers. When you're ready, click on either the "With frames" or "without frames" link (I recommend frames) to begin.
First, you'll go to the "0" page, which discusses the trials and tribulations of the number "0" versus the letter "O" and how confusing the similarities have been for computing types. Attempts to eliminate this confusion has often made the situation worse. This is a mildly interesting historical entry - read it if you like - but to start on our guided tour, I suggest you click on "B" and then on the entry for "bug".
I think that everyone understands the term "bug" to some degree. There's an entry for it that gives a rather detailed look at its history. While there appears to be solid evidence that an early computer reference to a hardware bug involved an actual moth that invaded and damaged one of the early room-sized machines, the term "bug" goes back much further. One of the references quotes Shakespeare's Henry VI; that gives you an idea of what you might find in the Jargon Lexicon.
Since we're in the "B" section, click on "beta". This isn't an amusing entry, but is instructive. In a few words, a "beta" is a program in late-stage testing, often by volunteer customers. It should be close to the final version, but could have some bugs. Often, if it has been rushed, it has many bad ones. I've heard the term "field beta" used for software that has really been rushed onto the market. Stated directly, non-volunteer purchasers do the late-stage testing. Does this sound like any software you've ever used?
Most entries have links to other entries. In many cases, you can have an interesting time traversing these links. Some other terms to get you started that you may find amusing, instructive or both are: "clustergeeking", "WOMBAT", "walking drives", "rain dance", "heatseeker", "honey pot", "Frankenputer", "rat dance", "scary devil monastery", "September that never ended", and "religious issues". I give my special recommendation to the various types of bugs - "heisenbug", "Bohr bug", "schroedinbug" and "mandelbug", and to the entries for and the links within "Murphy's Law" and "quantum bogodynamics". After that, just pick some at random, or some that sound interesting. There are hundreds to choose from. Don't miss the definition for "hacker" by the way.
Here's a bonus link for those of you who are still with me. I found it while traversing hackerdom, but it is a more general language link. World Wide Words: Exploring the English Language can be found at www.worldwidewords.org . It's very similar to the Jargon web site, but the content is much broader. It contains book reviews, questions and answers, articles, word and phrase discussions and usage notes among other things. I hope you like it.
CATBAR - Brain Candy #43 - What the heck is "quantum bogodynamics?" / Brian Rock / Feb 22 2001